The Children Of Konoha
by shadows and flowers
Summary: AU.The Konoha Twelve. Legends who have paved their way into history, some for the wrong reasons. The most esteemed group that Konoha has ever given birth to. Follow these children as they embark on a journey to change the world. Can they save it, or will they end up destroying it in the process
1. Prologue

The Children Of Konoha

**Disclaimer: **yeah, I own the whole Naruto franchise and I come to a fanfiction website just to make a story that tells you that.

This story is mainly about the Rookie Nine and the shinobi they meet, Like Team Gai and the Sand Siblings. This story will begin in chronological order, starting with the oldest one out of the entire Rookie Nine. I looked up all of their birth dates so I know who's the oldest and who's the youngest. This story is also AU because unlike the show, they are on different teams and certain events, like the Chunin Exams go differently than in the show. There are going to be relationships in this story so look out for hints. The skill level of some of the genin has been either a little overrated or underrated, but that's just for the story to flow. There won't be anything too major. So you won't see something that says Naruto is the most talented ninja that Konoha has ever known or Neji Hyuga is the weakest child from the Hyuga clan that was ever born. it's just the way I'm going to tell the story so read and enjoy... this story starts off on January 23, random year that I don't know.

"Push, Hitura!" Urged Shibi Aburame, Shino Aburame's future father in a calm voice as he gripped his wife's hand in worry. "I'm doing the best I can, Shibi! This kid just won't come out! It's like there's something blocking him from coming out!" Yelled Hitura Aburame as she struggled to get her child out.

Hitura pushed and pushed to try to get her child out and get rid of all of the pain that she was experiencing for one kid. "Don't worry; it's going to be okay. I'm right here with you. Everything's going to be okay." Assured Shibi Aburame. Hitura pushed as hard as she could and two pairs of milky legs popped out and then a small head popped out and the baby was successfully born.

"Congratulations, you have given birth to a beautiful baby boy!" Said the nurse.

"Oh he's beautiful! He looks just like his father. I think we should name him after you, Shibi." Said Hitura.

"No, he looks more like his grandfather, Shino Aburame. I think that we should name him after him, let his soul rest in peace." Said Shibi as he put his glasses up and took the boy in his arm and swung him gently and watched as he chuckled.

"Hey look Shibi, he has the exact same hairstyle as you do." Said Hitura as she folded Shino's hair back and shook it. "Hey I guess he does. Well, you know what they say, like father, like son, right?" Said Shibi as he adjusted the gourd on his back and smiled at his wife. "I can explain that. This child probably has a disorder that comes in about five children per year. He has the unusual hair disorder. It's nothing serious, it's just something that makes his hair too big for the average newborn. There's no other explanation as to why his hair is like that!"

"Aw, whatever it's still a cute baby. I wish I could have at least another one, right Hana?" Said Inuzuka Tsume as she grinned at her 4 year old daughter.

"I thought that I was enough for you?" Questioned Hana as she started to tear up and held onto her bear and let a tear slip out.

"You are, but wouldn't you like another sibling to play with?" Said Tsume.

"It is boring to play by my self." She admitted shyly, giggling to no one in particular.

"You know what would be ironic; if our children were on the same team, Just like we were a long time ago." Said Shibi as he reminisced over the years when he was on Tsume's team.

"Actually, that would be pretty ironic." Smiled Tsume at the joy she would have if her child would be on the same genin team as her close friend's new born child and smiled happily.

"Wow, he is pretty tall for a baby that was just born." Said an astounded nurse as she looked at Shino.

"That's definitely my son; He's tall, just like his father. I can't wait to take him to get his first pair of sunglasses." Remarked Shibi proudly as he thought about his own sunglasses, which his father got for him when he graduated from the academy, which was at age 8. The Aburame use glasses to show respect for the elders that got them the glasses and to respect them when they pass away, in Shibi's case. It's not because they don't have eyes.

"Well Shibi, let's go and show Shino to the other relatives that weren't able to visit him here at the hospital, shall we?" Asked Hitura as she was getting ready to carry Shino out of the hospital.

"Wait a minute first you got to sign his birth certificate." Said the nurse as she handed Shibi Aburame his son's birth certificate form.

**Shino's birth certificate**

Name: Shino Aburame

Sex: Male

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Hazel

DOB: January 23, random year that I do not know due to him staying the same age for like 2 years and then aging

Birth Diseases/Disorder: Unusual hair disorder

Weight: 6 pounds

Height: 24 inches

* * *

"OK, you can leave now. Thank you for your service." Thanked the nurse as she waved them goodbye.

"OK Shino that was the hospital where you were born. I want you to remember it." Said Hitura like a baby as she pinched Shino's baby cheek and watched him laugh happily

"Goo, heh hah heh." Said Shino in a childish voice as he reached over like he wanted to bring the hospital with him as he pulled his mom's hair.

Well there's Shino. He's the oldest out of the rookie nine. I had a feeling it would be Shino and I have two reasons to support that thought. One, Shino seems the most mature out of all the Rookie Nine and two, he's the tallest. Now I will fast forward with the second oldest two months later on March 28, again random year that I do not know.

* * *

"Congratulations, you have given birth to a beautiful baby girl!" Said the doctor cheerfully as he handed the Harunos their baby girl. "What, why does she have _pink _hair?" Questioned Chiora Haruno, Sakura's mother.

"Oh she is one of the rare ones. Every year there are at least five babies that have extraordinary qualities that aren't common in normal babies and she's one of them, but I've never seen one with pink hair. About a year ago I gave birth to a baby who had natural hair that was in the shape of panda ears. She's the first one I've seen with pink hair." Explained the nurse.

"Hey Chiora, her hair reminds me of a Cherry Blossom; I think we should name her Sakura Haruno." Said Ketoses as he yawned due to him being there for 26 hours without rest.

"Oh, Ketoses, what a wonderful name! It's officially decided that we will name her Sakura." Said Chiora joyfully as she smiled.

"Gaa gaa." Laughed Sakura cheerfully as she drooled a little bit.

"She looks most like you, Chiora, With her cheery face and cute dimples." Complimented Ketoses. "I can't wait to see her grow up and become a genin with her own team." Thought Chiora out loud as she looked at Ketoses and smiled.

"I just wished that her grandfather could be here. I know how much he was looking forward to having grand kids; let his soul rest in peace." Said Ketoses as he and Chiora silently prayed for Ketoses's father, the legendary Katorze Jute.

"Ok, if you guys will please sign her birth certificate, then you may leave the hospital." Said a nurse politely as she handed Chiora the birth certificate form. "Okay, now let's get this thing signed so we can leave this place." Said Chiora, eager to show her newborn child her home as she grabbed the certificate form and began to fill it out.

**Sakura's birth certificate**

Name: Sakura Haruno

Sex: Female

Hair Color: Pink

Eye Color: Green

DOB: March 28, No answer

Birth Diseases/Disorder: Irregular hair color

Weight: 8 pounds

Height:17 inches

* * *

"Okay Sakura let's leave the hospital so we could see our house!" Said Chiora happily as she held Sakura in her arms and proceeded to leave the hospital with her husband and smiled as Sakura started to giggle...

Wow, I didn't know that Sakura would be the second oldest out of the entire rookie nine. That's a real surprise to me. I thought it was someone like Kiba or Sasuke. But that's what the facts told me. And here's what the facts also told me about the third oldest forwards about two months on May 1, random year with the third oldest who is...

* * *

"Come on, Jigora! You have to push harder! The baby won't come out if you don't push with all your strength!" Encouraged Chouza (Yep, it's Choji Akimichi) as he witnessed his wife give birth to his first child.

"I'm pushing as hard as I can but this baby just won't come out!" Screamed Jigora Akimichi as she was trying to remove her baby from her.

"Don't worry Jigora, this will all be over before you know it." Encouraged Yoshino, Shikaku's wife.

"I can't believe you're the first one out of the trio to have a baby. Well, as we all agreed, here's the five thousand Rio we promised you back in the day.I wonder when we'll have a baby of our own, Iris." Said Inoichi to his wife Iris who currently had no children. "Don't worry, our time will come. You just have to be patient." Said Iris politely.

The whole Ino-Shika-Cho trio came to see the birth of the first child of the first generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, a team known widely for it's outstanding teamwork. Even though they were underestimated, they were highly talented ninja back in their generation and were a huge help back during the Third Great Ninja War. They all split up and settled down, but they still remained the best of friends. Back when they were a team, they made a bet that whoever was the first one to get a child would get five thousand Rio from both of the losers and surprisingly, Chouza won. The team that their kids were going to be on was not even on their mind, But history could repeat itself.

"I just hope that our kid is not a smart ass. I hate smart asses." Said Shikaku, referring to kids who use sarcasm too much.

"Don't worry I seriously doubt that we will have a kid that disrespects us. If we do, him/her and I are going to have a bumpy road." Declared Yoshino as she started to think about how it would be like if she had a, as her husband would describe everything, 'drag of a kid.'

"Oh no it's coming out! It's hurting, Aaaaugh!" Screamed Jigora as she squeezed Chouza's hand and yelped loudly.

"Congratulations, you have given birth to a charming baby boy!" Congratulated the doctor as he handed the baby to Jigora. "He's a little big for a newborn, isn't he? He's even bigger than me when I was first born!" Exclaimed Chouza to the nurse as he tried to hold the big child in his hands. "Yes, in fact he is rather big for his age. But I'm sure it's just due to him probably becoming a future good ninja for the Akimichi clan." Guessed the nurse.

Chouza looked at the baby and flashed him a bright smile as the baby giggled and burped silently. Shikaku and Inoichi only laughed, recalling back memories of when they all first became a team.

"So Chouza, now's the big question. What are you gonna name the little rug rat?" Wondered Shikaku, wanting to know his friend's child's name. "I don't know Shikaku, what do you think Jigora?" Questioned Chouza as he looked faithfully at his wife, waiting for her answer. "I don't know, But he looks like you with those marks on his cheek." Noted Jigora as she touched the swirls on the baby's cheek.

"Well, at least we know that he has some of my genes." Said Chouza as he took another sip of his sake. Jigora asked Chouza for permission to hold the baby.

"Well, let's hurry up and sign his birth certificate already." Urged Jigora as she asked the nurse for the birth certificate form.

**Choji's birth certificate**

Name: Choji Akimichi

Sex: Male

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

DOB: May 1, Is it just me or should a year be here

Birth Diseases/Disorder: None

Weight: 19 pounds

Height: 15 inches

* * *

The parents of Choji handed the nurse the birth certificate form and proceeded to leave. "Okay, you guys, thank you for coming to witness our first child's birth. I hope that all of you guys will get your child sooner or later and we'll make sure we're there. Now let's go celebrate!" Announced Chouza as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and their wives went off to go party, while Choji stole a bag of chips from his father.

That's all for Choji. The ages of the Rookie Nine are really surprising me. Choji, the third oldest? How is that possible? The next one, in a way, doesn't really surprise me. So I present to you, the next oldest one. This one, again, skips two months to July 7, random year that I do not know...

* * *

Tsume Inuzuka was being rushed to the hospital by close friend Shibi Aburame, his wife and child, Shino Aburame who was in his booster seat, who was only 6 months old, and her daughter, Hana Inuzuka who had turned five on April 13, random year I don't know.

"What do you know, it looks like you're about to have your second child. Congratulations!" Said the top member of the Aburame clan as he pumped up the gas and sped up to get his close friend Tsume to the hospital. "I am sorry though that Taichi couldn't make it, let his soul rest in piece." Added Shibi about Tsume's deceased husband.

"Yeah, that war is really something. I didn't know that a warrior like Taichi would fall in that war. I wish that he would be able to see his second child." Mourned Tsume as she started to let tears slip out, not common in an Inuzuka.

"Come on, don't cry. Taichi wouldn't want you to cry. You have to be strong about this. He defended this village because he loved it more than anything. I'm going to defend this village too in his honor."

Tsume tried not to cry but she just couldn't help herself. She was happy that she was getting another baby, but it was too much for her to afford. Hana was already costing her a fortune; how was she supposed to take care of two kids?

"It's just that, I don't know how I'm going to take care of two kids. I don't know how this one is going to turn out. Maybe he'll be quiet and the 'get by myself' kind of kid, or maybe he'll be loud and the 'give me what I need and now' kind of kid. There's no way I could deal with the loud kid!" Exclaimed Tsume as Shibi sweat dropped.

Shibi spoke up. "Don't worry, the Aburame clan will send you the stuff you need so you can supply Hana and Kiba with what they need." informed Shibi as Tsume had a big grin on her face.

"Shibi, you would do that for me?" Tsume smiled at the generosity of her former teammate. "Sure, if it wasn't for you I would be dead by now anyway. It's the least I can do for you. Remember our trip to the Stone village when me and Chiotzu were about to die and you saved us?" Shibi remembered

_Flashback_

_Team Homura was at the Hokage's office awaiting for the Third Hokage, otherwise known as Hizuren Sarutobi, to assign them a mission. After they received their mission, which was to deliver a document that contained valuable information about the Rock Village to the stone, They were shocked that it was an S-rank mission, which was only given out to Anbu and the Hokage himself. Why would they assign three genin and one jonin on an S-rank mission? Team Homura consisted of Chiotzu, who hails from an unknown clan but is rumored to be a descendant of the clan that possesses the Rinnegan, though this was not proven yet, Tsume Inuzuka, who hails from the Inuzuka clan, known for fighting in combat with dogs, and she is known as the heir to the clan, the team genius, Shibi Aburame, who finished the academy as the second top student, only after Minato Namikaze. He hails from the prestigious, widely known, Aburame clan, and is known for his knowledge and his ability to use his clan's jutsu so significantly in battle and has already gone on three A-rank missions with his team, And their sensei, Homura Mitokado. Not much is known about him, besides the fact that he was the Third Hokage's teammate. However, he is incredibly strong, and a fierce competitor._

_Tsume had a problem with the rank of that mission. "Why is it S-rank? All we gotta do is deliver some scroll to the Stone village. How hard is that!" Tsume exclaimed as she scoffed. "But if you want to add one S-rank mission completed onto my record, I'm all go for it." Hiruzen cleared his throat as he was about to explain to Tsume. _

_"This mission would have been C-rank. But we remembered that you have to go through the Sand village and the Rock village, who we are enemies with. Due to the danger of delivering a scroll to another village while crossing the village that the scroll contains information about, we made this mission an S-rank mission. I know you're asking why I picked you guys. The reason is you all can fight, and you have skills to attribute to the team. Shibi, you're the information gatherer. You're job is to gather any type of suspicious information about the Sand and Rock and report it back to me. Tsume, you're the tracker. You try to track down enemies with your excelled sense of smell and alert the team to get ready for a fight. Chiotzu, you're the major fighter. When Tsume alerts you of danger, you'll be the first to jump out and attack, so there's a smaller chance of anyone getting hurt. Homura, I'm sure you know you're responsibility." Hiruzen assigned the positions and Homura only nodded in acknowledgment._

_"Now, here's the scroll. You should get going on your mission now." Informed Hiruzen as he waved the team and sent them on their journey._

**_At The Rock Village_**

_They all managed to make it out of the Sand village without a scratch, thanks to Shibi's genius. But Shibi's luck was about to strike out as a Stone ninja came charging out of nowhere, saying nothing. _

_"Shibi, Chiotzu, look out!" But Tsume was too late to alert them and just as it looked like it was the last moments for the two shinobi, the rogue ninja was locked in an intense Man Beast Clone combo, courtesy of Tsume Inuzuka. Chiotzu was too cocky too admit it but Shibi gave her a thank you and the four continued their mission to the Stone Village._

_End Flashback_

_"_You did not help us get out of the Sand Village, we all had our own part. And stop bragging about how you're such a genius!" Corrected Tsume as she was rushed to the emergency room by Shibi. Hitura was holding Shino on her back. "Whatever, I still was a genius. Second in the academy, only behind the Fourth Hokage. That's something to be proud of." Admitted Shibi as Tsume sweatdropped and entered the E.R. with the Aburames and her daughter right with her.

**In The E.R.**

Push Momma! You have to push if you want it to come out!" Urged Hana as she cheered for her mom.

"Mommy's doing the best she can, sweetie!" Argued Tsume. Then a head popped out with average sized brown hair, the admirable Inuzuka markings and dog-like eyes. "It's almost coming out!" Tsume cheered. Next came out the stomach and the 'private' parts. "It's fat!" Remarked Hana. And then the whole thing popped out into the doctor's hands. "Congratulations! You have given birth to a handsome baby boy!" Announced the doctor as Tsume eagerly stole the birth certificate forms and began to think of the baby's name. "I think it should be something canine-like. What about you, Shibi?" Tsume asked her best friend, awaiting his answer. "Just go with whatever you think is right. Either way, I'm sure it will be a charming name." Praised Shibi.

The whole hospital was quiet until the baby started to make vicious dog sounds and bit Hana, who was nearby, on her left arm. "Waaaaahhhhh! Mommy, that's a dog, not a baby! Look it bit me! To think that's _my _little brother! I hate him!" Cried Hana as she winced at the pain expecting her mom to react in a certain way.

"Oh, man up. The good thing about him biting you is that I figured out a name for the baby. I'm going to name him Kiba! Kiba means claws or fangs and this baby sure has some sharp teeth if you ask me." Bragged Tsume as she paid no attention to Hana, who was currently bleeding blue blood.

"Yes, Kiba does sound like a canine name and it sounds very vicious if you ask me." Complimented Shibi.

"Yep, those are the teeth of a true Inuzuka man if you ask me." Admitted Tsume. "I can't wait to see him grow up and become a man, just like his father."

The whole room was silent as they paid respects to the late Inuzuka.

"Ma'am, can you please sign the child's birth certificate?" Asked the nurse politely. "Sure, no problem, in fact I'll get to it right now."

**Kiba's Birth Certificate**

Name: Kiba Inuzuka

Sex: Male

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

DOB: July 7, you know the drill

Birth Diseases/Disorders: None

Weight: 5 pounds

Height: 19 inches

* * *

"OK, Kiba let's go home! Your home is an amazing place. Trust me, you'll think so too." Laughed Tsume as she blabbed on about useless things to Kiba, once again forgetting Hana, not even taking her home...

Okay here are the top five youngest people in the rookie nine. Believe it or not, this is accurate and even though it may surprise you, it's all real. This story continues just sixteen days after Kiba was born on July 23, yeah yeah I know, let's just resume the story!

* * *

It was a dark night on the day that Mikoto Uchiha, the wife of the heir of the clan, Fugaku Uchiha, was rushed to the hospital due to her water breaking. She was going to have her second child, after the prodigy Itachi Uchiha, who, at age 5, was just admitted into the ninja academy. Many prestigious people in the village, such as the Hyuga clan, the 4th Hokage, the 3rd Hokage, the fire country lord, Kakashi Hatake, and many more, were going with her, wanting to see the birth of the next Uchiha prodigy. It was just in time, because as soon as she was admitted into the hospital, two minutes after on the hospital bed, the baby came out.

"Congratulations, Mikoto. It looks like the Uchiha beat the Hyuga once again to get a child. I wonder when ours will come." Congratulated Hiashi Hyuga, the current head of the Hyuga clan.

"But, you already have the kid from the branch house. What's his name, Neji?" Pointed out Mikoto thoughtfully. "Oh yes, but he's worthless. He doesn't mean anything of any significance so far. In fact he's right here. His first birthday came, which means it's only three more years until he gets the mark." Nodded Hiashi in disappointment.

"May I hold the little guy?" Asked the 4th Hokage politely as he signaled to the baby. "Yes, Lord Hokage, of course." Mikoto gave the baby to the Hokage immediately as Fugaku spoke to the Hokage. "It looks like we beat you out. I wonder when Kushina is going to deliver her baby. I'll make sure to attend that." Notified Fugaku as Minato nodded.

"Mommy, what are we going to name my little brother? I want it to be like my name with six letters." Asked Itachi as he tickled his little brother who remained nameless as of the moment. "I know what his name should be. I think it matches the last name perfectly. Sasuke Uchiha. What do you guys think?" Offered Fugaku.

"I personally like that name and I think that's a great name for an Uchiha." Praised Hiruzen Sarutobi, otherwise known as the 3rd Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Me too, I have a feeling he'd be just like Obito; He was a strong shinobi though." Mumbled Kakashi to himself.

"Ah, my little brother, he sure was a strong fighter. A little clumsy, but he's someone that I would want little Sasuke to follow after." Mourned Fugaku about the death of his little brother.

"Is uncle Obito dead?" Questioned Itachi, curious over why he's seen Kakashi and the 4th, but not his uncle, and since he was a genius, he was able to catch on quickly.

The room remained quiet, nobody even taking the time to explain to Itachi that his uncle is dead.

"Okay, let's stop being gloomy. Let's try to sign his birth certificate, OK?" Cheered Mikoto as she grabbed a birth certificate sheet and proceeded to fill it out.

**Sasuke's Birth Certificate  
**

Name: Sasuke Uchiha

Sex: Male

Hair Color: Bluish-Black

Eye Color: Black

DOB: July 23, _

Birth Diseases/Disorders:None

Weight: 7 pounds

Height: 18 inches

* * *

"Okay, you guys, thanks for you all coming to see the birth of Mikoto and I's second child. I want to ask if you guys would like to come over for a celebration." Fugaku began to get Mikoto and Sasuke into the car, and Itachi could get in all by himself. After everyone accepted the invites, everyone went to the Uchiha mansion to have a party over the birth of Sasuke Uchiha, the next Uchiha...

Okay, there's Sasuke taking the number five position, woot woot! There's only four more positions left, the final four. Let's get on to the next birth. This one is skipping about 1 month and twenty nine days on the morning of September 22, insert year here. Back to the story!

* * *

Shikaku Nara was rushing his wife Yoshino Nara, to the hospital with close friends Chouza Akimichi and his son, Choji, who was six months old at the time, Inoichi Yamanaka, whose wife was supposed to be due anytime now, Shibi Aburame and his son, Shino, who he was good friends with from the Academy. His wife was pregnant with their first child, and Shikaku was bummed out.

"I can't believe this happened, it's just plainly impossible. I can't believe this. If my child turns out like me, I'll have to move as far away from him as I can." Groaned Shikaku in agony.

"Stop whining! We're about to have a kid and all you can do is complain! I'm disappointed in you Shikaku! If you didn't want to have a kid, you shouldn't have got in bed with me nine months ago!" Yoshino was enraged at her husband's lack of excitement over having a child. Choji was sucking chips so they would be soft for him to eat them, but Shino was getting his bugs all over them, making him cry. Inoichi was bummed that he would be the last to have a child. Chouza was sitting there peacefully looking out the window, wanting no part in his friend's argument with his wife.

"Well if Kami would've told me that this was going to happen, I wouldn't have!" Shouted back Shikaku in a calm and dry voice.

Shikaku was a very calm man who didn't like to get into difficult situations because he ended up like this. But his wife was really pissing him off, so he set her straight.

"Just shut up and drive, you old man." Threatened Yoshino as she huffed and puffed. Shikaku breathed heavily. "Why don't you hurry up!" Joked Shikaku with his dry humor, but Yoshino took it seriously. Choza chuckled at his friend's stupidity.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU OLD MAN!" Yoshino yelled at her husband, causing him to wince

"It was just a joke, dammit." Shikaku mumbled to himself. Since then, the whole trip to the hospital was silent. 10 minutes later they were just coming in the parkway of the Konoha hospital and Shikaku bitterly rushed his wife into the emergency room and told them of his situation. They immediately took Yoshino to the place where they delivered babies and Shikaku and the rest of them followed closely behind.

"Don't worry honey, this will be over in a flash. Ironically it was over in a flash; The baby came out with a retro style of hair that was conveniently tied up with the rubber band to match. It looked like a pineapple. And to top it off, he was sleeping.

"Excuse me nurse, why is my child sleeping when it was just born?" Questioned Yoshino as she held her baby up for everyone to see the pineapple haired boy.

"He's sleeping?" Gasped the nurse. "I guess he's another one, then."

"Another one?" Shikaku yawned. "Another what?"

"Well, every year, there's at least five newborns that have unusual characteristics. I guess this one has an unusual sleeping disorder. Oh, and he's a boy, if you didn't know by my speech." Answered the nurse.

"Well, it looks like Choji and Shino are going to have another playmate, huh?" Choza snacked on his barbecue chips as he said that.

"Okay, then, can we please get our birth certificate forms so we can leave?" Asked Yoshino politely.

"Yoshino, what are we going to name the little tyke? We're not in any rush to leave." Asked Shikaku as he thought of the idea of having a kid with no name. "Don't worry, I've already thought of a perfect name for him. Since he looks like you and all, I think he should have the -shika part and just top it off with a -maru, that's a boy name." Yoshino answered diligently and received a blunt 'whatever' from her husband as she proceeded to sign the birth certificate once more.

**Shikamaru's Birth Certificate**

Name: Shikamaru Nara

Sex: Male

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

DOB: September 23, a year should go here

Birth Disorders/ Diseases: Extreme laziness syndrome (ELS)

Weight: 10 pounds

Height: 21 inches

* * *

The nurse put the birth certificate in a special envelope entitled 'Shikamaru Nara' and put a copy into a folder that was titled 'Nara Children'. She waved the Nara's and their guests off as she opened the door for them to leave.

"Hey Shikaku, what if the baby turns out like you did? Oh, that would be a disaster!" Joked Chouza.

"What? devilishly good looks, Genius level of intelligence; I don't see a disaster there." Slickly replied Shikaku to his friend as they both laughed at the irony of Shikaku having a kid just like himself. The laughter stopped when Iris, Inoichi's wife, started yelping.

"Oh, no. I think my water is breaking!" Iris freaked out.

"What, but Shikaku's child was just born! And I thought you weren't due in a week's time at the least!" A shocked Inoichi mumbled at his wife.

"I don't care! Put me on a hospital bed right now!" Commanded Iris. "Okay, okay. Don't have to yell!"

**_The Morning of September 23._**

"Waah, Wahh!" Yelped the Yamanaka's first daughter, who they had decided to name Ino Yamanaka, to continue the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

"Hey, who would've thought that Shikaku's son and Inoichi's _daughter_ would've been born by only a day's time?" Thought Chouza out loud to the group.

"Oh yeah, Inoichi, you have a daughter! Ha, ha!." Shikaku teased Inoichi.

"Hey, it's not funny." Inoichi said bluntly to his best friend, Shikaku. Shikaku only continued to tease the Yamanaka.

"Daddy, buy me a car! Daddy, buy me that new brand of lipstick! Daddy, that boy is so cute!" Shikaku made a high pitched voice in imitation of what Inoichi's daughter would be like, only to receive a chop on the head from his wife.

"We are not like that! All you men do is sit around itching for a fight!" Yoshino exclaimed.

Choji and Shino were playing with the day old Shikamaru, when Inoichi set Ino right beside the newest Nara member. Choji and Shino were bewildered at the sight of the blond haired beauty, even though they were only a couple of months. She had blue eyes with no pupils in them. Soft, delicate baby skin, and now Choji was drooling. She giggled playfully at Shikamaru, who was still sleeping.

"You sure he isn't dead?" Worried Shikaku.

"Of course not! He still has a pulse." Explained the nurse. Shikamaru finally decided to wake up and began to cry loudly. Shikaku briefly lost hearing in his right ear. Inoichi nearly fell out of the chair he was sitting on. Yoshino was about to have a heart attack.

"Calm him down! Calm him down!" She commanded the nurse, who sang 'Rockabye Baby' to Shikamaru and fed him fish chips.

"Okay, anyways, let's hurry up and get the birth certificate signed." Requested Inoichi, to Iris's approval.

**Ino's Birth Certificate**

Name: Ino Yamanaka

Sex: Female

Hair Color: Yellow (Blond)

Eye Color: Blue (Obviously)

DOB: 9/23/?

Birth Disorders/ Diseases: None

Weight: 4 pounds

Height: 21 inches

* * *

There's Shikamaru and Ino bundled in a bunch, as always. Here's the top two, or bottom two. Since it's so obvious, I'm going to tell you that the last two are Naruto and Hinata. Anyways, fast forward three weeks onto the day of the legendary, infamous day of October 10, insert year here. The day of the Nine-tailed Fox attack.

* * *

It all started at around dawn, when Madara Uchiha, one of the strongest ninja to ever live, finally gained enough power to release the Nine-tailed Fox demon spirit on Konoha. Although it was a very short attack, it was one of the most lethal and destructive events to ever occur in Konoha. All of the clans fought their hardest to protect their village and the ones they love. Iruka Umino's parents were killed in the beast's rampage, trying to defend the country that they both loved and the child that they both loved. Shino Aburame's mother was hospitalized due to her protecting her child. The Uchihas and the Hyugas were the biggest help during the attack, but none were able to stop the beast. A swing of one of its tails was strong enough to raise the biggest Tsunamis and flatten the hugest mountains. During the ravenous attack of the beast, the Fourth Hokage was having his first child.

"Don't worry, you won't get hurt. I put up a seal that not even that monster can get through." Grinned the fourth Hokage, otherwise known as Minato Namikaze, the husband of Kushina Uzumaki.

"I hope so. I want our son to be okay after this. But sweety, you're the Hokage. You have to go out and do something about that monster before it's too late an- auughhh! Oh no! Breathe Breathe Breathe! it's too late, it's coming out! Do something Minato!" Kushina instantly switched personalities to a sweet gentle girl to a ruthless, commanding woman. Kushina's kid popped out with great stamina and speed, just in time to know that the beast's claw's were heading right for the hospital they were in, and it looked like it had enough strength to break through the barrier

"Flying Thunder God Jutsu!" Minato instantly transported him, Kushina, and their child, who they named Naruto prior to his birth, due to his Sensei's inspirational book. "I'm glad we're out of there. Wait what? Why are we here in the middle of the attack! Are you trying to kill us!" Yelled Kushina in panic. Minato slightly grinned. "Well, as you said, I'm the Hokage, and this is my village. My home. the place that i'd sacrifice myself for. And after this day, let the village know not to think of Naruto as a demon, but rather a hero, for he is the one who is going to protect this village." The fourth Hokage said sincerely, leaving his wife clueless. "Minato, what are you talking about? Don't tell me you're going to fight this thing?"

"Precisely. Tell Kakashi that I want **him** to succeed me as Hokage. Tell Jiraiya-sensei that he was the best sensei in the world and I'll see him in the other world. Make sure to tell Obito's nephews that I'm going to stay with him and protect the two of them. Make sure that Rin is going to be okay, even though I'm leaving. Kushina, I love you and I want you to take care of the kid and tell him that his dad has always loved him. And finally, tell Naruto that I want him to succeed Kakashi as Hokage. Kushina, don't think I'm doing this out of hate, I love both you and Naruto. I love this whole village, but now it's my time to defend it." Bravely answered Minato. "Dead Demon Consuming Seal!" Minato had captured the spirit of the nine tailed fox. He knew that the only way to stop it was to seal it inside his newborn son. So with Gamabunta below him, he and the frog used all their chakra to redirect the nine tailed fox spirit into Naruto, and fortunately they succeeded, but unfortunately, Minato had to pay the price with his life. As the life in the fourth Hokage slowly drained out of him, Kushina couldn't believe what she had witnessed.

"Minato, no please don't go! I love you!" Pleaded Kushina to no avail. She tried to touch Minato's still lifeless hands but all she felt were cold, empty, soulless hands. She started to cry silently as her husband fell off of the giant frog and onto the ground, dead. She cursed Minato tearily. "You bastard! You dumb stupid bastard! You want to leave me all alone with this child! No way, if you think I'm going to deal with this, then you have another thing coming!" Kushina cried, and with all her might and speed, jumped off of Gamabunta, and into a lake nearby, where she remained until she lost consciousness and died, committing suicide. She didn't even sign the kid's birth certificate. And that was it. In less than 20 minutes, Naruto Uzumaki was officially an orphan. Not knowing that birth of his parents have died, Naruto just sat there joyfully laughing. "Come on kid, I'll take you to your house. But I don't know who will take care of you." Gamabunta worried and dropped the parent-less child off at his house and let him live his life and would continue to watch over him for his safety.

* * *

There's Naruto and my short recap of the Nine tailed fox attack. Now what you've all been waiting for. The one and only, the legendary, the youngest of the rookie nine, the heir to the Hyuga clan, Hinata Hyuga on December 27, five days before the next random year!

* * *

The Hyuga clan was in a rush to deliver their first child into the world who would be named Hinata, thanks to some inspiration from others to give their child that name. Tulip, Hiashi Hyuga's wife was in pain as she struggled to get into the hospital and could barely take the pain. They were able to afford the best hospital that money could buy, the Konoha satisfactory hospital. As the nurses paid special attention the Hyuga mistress, the pain was so much that the baby just came out, unexpectedly, a day premature than when she was expected, that explains all the pain.

"She's a beautiful baby, isn't she Hiashi?" Asked Tulip Hyuga to her husband. "No doubt, she's a wonderful baby. One definitely worth being the next heir to the prestigious Hyuga clan. Hi there Hinata, I'm your dad, and this is your mom, and this is your cousin Neji from the branch family. You're going to be ten times stronger than him aren't you?" Bragged Hiashi about his first born child.

"Sweety, you don't know. Maybe Neji will be just as strong as her, maybe weaker, maybe stronger. You can't base that stuff on the types of families. As far as I know, the next child we have will have to be a branch member, due to it being the second born. That's what happened with you and Hizashi, right?" Teased Tulip.

"That's preposterous! I don't care about the standards. All my children will be main family members, no matter what!" Hiashi demanded.

"Whatever, anyway, let's get back to the baby. She's so cute!" Complimented Tulip.

Hinata had violet like hair with baby smooth skin and the natural pupil-less Byakugan eyes. (Sorry, if I'm not describing well, but I can't describe a person well by just their hair.)

"Well, let's just cut the celebration short. I don't want to stay here that long anyway. Sign the birth certificate form." Demanded Hiashi in a sort of comical voice.

Tulip asked for the birth certificate form and proceeded to fill it out.

**Hinata's Birth Certificate**

Name: Hinata Hyuga

Sex: Female

Hair Color: Violet

Eye Color: white (Hyuga Color)

DOB: December 27, I don't know

Height: 19 inches

Weight: 7 pounds

"Okay, we signed it out. Let's go back home and try to get another one!" Persuaded Hiashi and Tulip giggled. "Hiashi, I've never seen this side of you before! I like it!" And the Hyuga clan went home after the birth of their first child to try to make more of them

* * *

**Okay, I know that Hinata's part was too short and unentertaining but I'm tired and I'm also trying to work on a sequel to my fanfic 'There's something in the sandbox' So look out for that one, alright? The next couple of chapters will be based on the academy, not when they enter, but during the middle and graduation. The actual action won't start until like Chapter 5. So review and keep on reading. Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Academy And Mizuki

**Okay, Here's another chapter of the children of Konoha. This takes place prior to the rookie nine's graduation. Read And Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Shadows owns nothing!**

* * *

It was a bright day in Konoha, Village Hidden In the Leaves. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and those brats in the academy will finally become Genin.

Slated are geniuses like the Uchiha prodigy, or the Aburame kid, compared to the dropouts that don't apply themselves, such as the Nine-Tailed Demon container, the Nara child, and the Hyuga. The choice is never guaranteed until after all the genin take the final exam, which counts for more than 90% of your final grade. So all you have to do is get a C-rank and you should be eligible to graduate.

The grade on that test and the children's final grades are what shall determine the teams this year. The previous method was two students who scored relatively well, and the dropout that should supposedly be pushed by the teammates. So far it has always worked, but the Third Hokage is considering a new method.

"All that I am saying is that if you have a team with the three top scorers in the academy like Shino, Sasuke, and Ino, they would be pushed to be the best and could be exceptionally strong ninjas. As with the lowest scorers like Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru, they would be pushed to prove that there not weak and would push to succeed, becoming moderate ninjas." The Legendary and highly respected Third Hokage testified to the Konoha Council.

The Third took a puff from his pipe and smoked it, awaiting his adviser's answers.

His advisers, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, long time friends answered. "But what about missions? How do you expect them to do good on missions if there is no one that's relatively talented?" Homura spoke up.

"That proves my point once again. The fact that they have no one except their sensei to step in and save them. Wouldn't they work extra hard to complete the missions?" The Third was sitting in a criss cross fashion awaiting his old teammates answers.

"Not exactly. You can't just expect them to pull talent out of thin air. All teams need a core and a backbone to survive; not a bunch of failures who think they can succeed just because the odds are against them." Koharu shot back.

The Konoha council was having a debate on the structure of rookie genin teams. The majority of the council wanted to keep it a traditional structure as they had for over 60 years. They refused to see the liberal point at which the Third was establishing, but the Third was also unwilling to listen to the others point.

A constant danger was the nearing threat of Orochimaru and his supposed plan to destroy the Leaf Village. That was a topic constantly brought up during this debate. The thoughts were whether or not the weakest team would be able to defend Konoha successfully.

"We need teams that can defend our village successfully. We can't put the most talented genin on one team and the least talented on another. They must be spread out so there could be no weak points in our defense, because we'll need all we can get if the rumors about Orochimaru are true." Homura suggested.

Respected Jonins like Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were witnessing the debate and were asked to survey their opinions.

"I really couldn't care less, but whatever team that Naruto is in, I want that team." The stoic and carefree Kakashi Hatake demanded, the son of the White Fang Sakumo Hatake.

The Third came up to question that one. "Why would you want one of the students who are currently having the worst grades in the academy on your squad? I was wanting you to have the prestigious squad. The one that consisted of the Uchiha prodigy." The Third Hokage tried to change Kakashi's demand.

Kakashi smiled from under his dark blue, opaque mask. He shifted his forehead protector to cover his left eye. "As I'm sure you all know, my sensei was the highly respected Minato Namikaze, or the Fourth Hokage. I was there during his last moments, and one of his final requests was that Naruto be viewed as a hero, not as a demon. But that request was not fulfilled. Then he had another request; that I, no matter what, watch over his child, Naruto. And besides that, it would be a huge honor for me to teach my own sensei's son. Can you not agree with that?" Kakashi attempted to justify his demand.

The Third had no choice but to give the Hatake his demand and attempt to put him as Naruto's sensei; But Kakashi should be warned that if Naruto happens to die, the beast's power would not die with him. It would be free to roam the land and cause havoc once more; He had a huge responsibility on his hands.

Oh, but of course, that brings up a highly important decision; The placement of Nara Shikamaru. His grades reflected that he should be put on the bottom team, but many assume that he just doesn't work hard enough. As such goes with the Hyuga heir, Hyuga Hinata.

"From past Naras, I know that they're naturally lazy, and tend to have poor grades, but Shikaku Nara had one of the worst academy grades in Konoha history, and look where he is now. He's the smartest man in the Fire Country, and the Jonin Commander. I think that Shikamaru is heading his way, possibly better, as he has **THE** worst academy grades in Konoha history. He's never even completed one test." The Third Hokage chuckled at Shikamaru's refusal to pick up a pencil.

"Yes, but you can't place students on higher or lower spots based on where they come from. Yes, that consistently happens with the Hyugas and the Uchihas, but now look, the Hyugas now have a dropout. The same with Shikamaru. I think we should put him on the team where he stands." Koharu Utatane protested.

The Third Hokage knew that was a great point, and he couldn't disagree. "Yes, that's a good point. Banish that decision, But what about the team structure? The meeting is almost over, so we must have the final vote. May the two council advisers please stand and list your opinions and the reason for said opinion?" Koharu and Homura stood up from where they were sitting behind the Hokage.

"Well, I've been thinking about it and I think the structure should change because of all the new advantages we could have. But for that to work, I think the most respected Jonin, like Kakashi, should be on the weakest team, as they need the most help, while the rookie Jonin, like Kurenai, should be on the strongest team, as they don't need as much help, but could still use it." With that, Koharu sat down.

"I agree with Koharu, but my reason is the same of that of the Third's. inferiority to that that's supposedly on your skill level drives one another to get stronger, which can make exceptional ninjas out of all the rookie genin." Homura sat down.

The Third Hokage smiled, put down his pipe, stood up, and officially ended the council meeting and the old tradition of two strong genin and a weak genin on a team. All the ninja in the Council Building quickly dispersed and continued on with their lives.

* * *

The apartment of Naruto Uzumaki was not a very joyful one; Rust on the ceilings;Mold on the ground. There was barely anything to eat or drink, except this carton of milk, that Naruto really was not in the mood for. There was nothing that made Naruto even like the apartment. Oh, how he wished he had a mom or a dad to support him, but he doesn't even know who his dad or mom are.

There was only one thing that made Naruto get out of his bed that morning. He has to take the major academy test to see whether or not he would graduate.

He put on his casual Orange jacket and jeans, with his green goggles. As he warmed up some chicken pork ramen, he was ready for another typical day. That was, going to the academy only to get ridiculed for his inability to do the simplest of jutsus.

Three minutes had passed and Naruto was getting ready to enjoy a steaming bowl of Chicken Pork Ramen. He was doubtful about the test. He knew that his love Sakura would pass, but what about him? He knew that Sakura wouldn't date a kid who failed the academy. He also worried for one of his best friends, Shikamaru. He wasn't exactly the most motivated kid around, but who knew what he could do.

But what about him? He couldn't pass that test! However, he knew he could do it. He could pass that test and become a strong ninja. He was actually excited. Well, at least until he looked at the time.

"8:55? I'm going to be late!" Naruto spit out his ramen and ran out of the door as fast as he could. The academy was 15 minutes away, By walking, at least. Naruto proceeded to hop from building to building to get to the Academy faster.

Although Naruto had faster transportation, he was still late by two minutes. He wondered what Iruka sensei would say to him. He slowly turned the nob and went into the classroom where a ticked off Iruka was waiting impatiently for him.

"Naruto you dumbass! Why would you be late on such an important day! Go sit your ass in a seat so we can begin the testing dammit!" Iruka blew up at Naruto, but Naruto had learned to take it, as Iruka just wanted any reason to yell at him.

Naruto sat next to Shikamaru and Kiba, and waited for the test to begin. "Kiba, Shikamaru, you guys ready?"

Kiba Inuzuka, A.K.A. dogboy, and his pet dog Akamaru was one of Naruto's fellow Academy members. Out of all the students, he was the one who had the closest personality to Naruto. He was extremely confident in his skills, and doesn't believe he has an equal in this world. He also loves to pick fights with other students, and will challenge anybody.

"Hah! Of course, I might as well be a Genin right now!" Kiba cockily stated. Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't have the same opinion.

"It's such a drag. I don't even care about whether or not I can become a Genin." Shikamaru unenthusiastically muttered. Naruto nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru Nara, A.K.A. Shika, was one of Naruto's closest friends. Although he is a genius, he is an extremely lazy student, thinking picking up a pencil to do his tests are a waste of time. However, he has oodles and oodles of potential waiting to be unlocked.

"OK, as you all know, today is the day that you have your final exam, which counts for more than three fourths of your final grade. So you better do damn well on this one. OK, then let's get this started; first off, Choji Akimichi!" Iruka yelled, signaling for Choji to follow him outside of the room and into the hallway.

After dozens of other kids, it was finally Naruto's turn. He ran into the hallway and desperately tried to perform a clone jutsu so he can pass, but all that came out was a clone with too little chakra. So Iruka had to give him an E-rank, which is equivalent to an F. Ino Yamanaka went after him and got an A-Rank, and somehow, Shino and Sasuke managed to get an S-rank. Shikamaru got a B-rank and that was enough to bring his E-rank to a C-rank, which meant that he was going to graduate. Everyone managed to pass and graduate, except Naruto.

The future Genin was dismissed and were to come back tomorrow so they can be informed their teams.

Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha, his head hung down in shame and his hands in his pockets. Several villagers laughed at him as they knew that he had failed. But there was one person that didn't.

"Mizuki-Sensei? What are you doing here? Come to laugh at me I guess." Naruto continued to walk down the road.

Mizuki put his hand on Naruto's shoulder comfortingly and smiled at him. "Naruto, I wouldn't laugh at you. So what you didn't pass that dumb old test. That test is just a way to get people to forget about how there's an easier way to pass and learn new jutsu as a reward."

Naruto suddenly brightened up. Another chance to become a genin? Was all that the young child could transfer in his mind. "What is it! Where is it? When is it!" Naruto continued to barrage Mizuki with random questions, but all Mizuki could think of was his own personal gains.

'Finally! A kid that's so stupid that he would actually believe me!' Mizuki chuckled evilly and returned to Earth. "Don't worry, Naruto. It's a scroll named the Scroll of Sealing and it's in the Third Hokage's office. You can take it, do whatever you want with it, and when you're done, you give it back to me and before you know it, you'll have a forehead protector on." Mizuki falsely assured.

"All right! Well, it's almost dark and graduation is tomorrow. Looks like I should get started! Mizuki-sensei, I'll be in the forest right out of Konoha so no one knows where I am and you come later on, okay?" Naruto demanded.

Mizuki shook his head in approval and the two dispersed.

* * *

Naruto was able to get into the Third Hokage's office quite easily. The office had no security and the Third wasn't around. Naruto rampaged through the room and saw many, many, many scrolls. "Oh, come on! I can't spend all day here! Where is it!"

Naruto continued, damaging the old man's workplace until he saw a huge tan scroll that had the Japanese symbol for sealing on it, and immediately took it, dashed out of the Third's office, and ran into the forest just outside of The Leaf Village.

What Naruto didn't know was that the scroll had that name because the jutsus were sealed away, declared forbidden, and weren't meant to be used.

The Third Hokage had figured out about Naruto's theft by a loyal spy who was hiding in the room in case intruders came. But yet he failed to do anything when he saw Naruto steal the scroll and leave.

The Third had sent out many, many chunin to capture Naruto and return the scroll as soon as possible. Iruka was one of those chunin.

Naruto had skimmed the scroll and had found a jutsu called the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. He tried as hard as possible to complete that move, but constantly failed. When he tried once more, Mizuki appeared. So did Iruka.

"Hey, Iruka Sensei! I've got a cool new jutsu that'll make you have to let me graduate!" As Naruto was preparing the jutsu, Iruka stopped him.

"Naruto, did you think that stealing a scroll from the Third Hokage's office would make you graduate?" Iruka sincerely asked, finding something fishy about Mizuki in the picture.

"He sure did!" Mizuki said deviously. "Naruto, do you want to know why everyone in the village acts like they hate you?" Mizuki asked twirling a kunai in his hand.

Iruka knew where this was going. "Mizuki! Stop! Don't do it!"

Mizuki just casually continued on with the sentence. "You are a demon child!"

"Mizuki! Stop! Naruto, don't believe him!" Iruka desperately pleaded for Mizuki to stop his revelation before it's too late.

"You're the container of the Nine-tailed Fox! 12 years ago the Fourth Hokage sealed the demon fox into a child. That child was you, Naruto!" Mizuki revealed, laughing evilly while twirling the kunai in his hand.

Naruto broke down. Is that true? Was he the Nine tailed Fox boy? He couldn't believe it. For twelve years, how could he not know? Why did Iruka desperately try to stop Mizuki from revealing it to him?

"Iruka-sensei? Is that true?" Naruto asked, teary eyed.

Iruka was devastated that Naruto knew. "Sadly, Naruto it is? Mizuki is not lying." Iruka revealed, feeling ashamed.

Mizuki deceivingly pouted, as he took out a giant shuriken that was hanging on his back, and flung it at Naruto with amazing speed. Iruka jumped in Naruto's way and took the shuriken for him. Mizuki was shocked and surprised to say the least. As Iruka hung over Naruto, mouth gaping in pain, Iruka revealed something to Naruto.

"Naruto, I used to be like you. The Nine-tailed Fox killed both of my parents, and I was left an orphan. I too acted out just to get any kind of attention from somebody. But hey, look at me now. There's nothing wrong with me, right? There's nothing wrong with you, either. You are not the beast. You're Naruto Uzumaki, and I believe in you!" Iruka revealed, tears freely flowing from his eyes.

"Shut up, will you! After I kill you, I'm going to kill Naruto! Then after that, I'm going to steal the scroll and learn all the forbidden jutsu my body can take. So if you don't mind, Iruka. DIE!" Mizuki flung another giant shuriken at Iruka, but to stop it, was Naruto. Iruka was shocked, and Mizuki was pleased.

But Naruto turned out to be a shadow clone! Iruka was still in shock. How could Naruto, who couldn't even make a simple clone, make a _shadow_ clone?

And it looked like Naruto continued to surprise. After stunning Iruka and Mizuki with the shadow clone jutsu, he used a more advanced version Tajuu Kage Bunshin or, Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Naruto had the upper hand against Mizuki. He used all those Shadow clones that were scattered in the premises to severely pummel Mizuki.

Iruka, who was stunned, surprised, and proud of Naruto for learning such an advanced jutsu, gave him his forehead protector and congratulated Naruto on graduating from the Academy, as he wouldn't need regular clones if he had Shadow Clones.

Naruto cried in joy and hugged Iruka. To celebrate, they went to Naruto's favorite place to eat, Ichiraku Ramen. After a nice dinner, Naruto went to his poor apartment, had a good night's sleep, and awaited the next day.


	3. The Teams

**Here is the third chapter of Children Of Konoha. If I'm progressing too fast in the chapters, just tell me in a review.** **I hope all you non reviewers enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was up exceptionally early. He brushed his teeth until they were sparkly clean, washed his orange jumpsuit for once, put away his traditional goggles, and strapped on his forehead protector.

Naruto was bursting with enjoyment. Even though that freak Mizuki tried to kill him, he was right. Learning those jutsu could get you to pass! And besides that, he learned an awesome jutsu and is going to graduate! He dashed out of his room, looked inside his refrigerator, and suddenly became gloomy again. He already finished the ramen! Well, as there was nothing to eat in his own house, he thought that he should cruise on to one of his best friends, Shikamaru's house, and get some grub. There's always deer in his backyard. They must do something with them right?

He sprinted down the pavement in Konoha that led to Konoha as fast as he could, in order to avoid the townspeople. At least he knew why they were so harsh now. But he would never tell anyone his dirty little secret; that he was the container of the Nine-tailed Fox.

He managed to safely make it to Shikamaru's house. It's not like anyone would care whether or not he did make it.

Shikamaru should be awake. As lazy as he is, he has never been late to the academy. In fact, he's always quite early. It's probably because Ino's always early to the academy also.

He knocked on his brown door frantically, And of course, the lazy genius answered. His eyes were drooping, and sleepiness obviously expressed by his face.

"Naruto, it's eight o'clock. Graduation is in like 1 hour. And what are you doing with that forehead protector? You didn't graduate, Did you?" Shikamaru immediately questioned, yawning.

Naruto grinned at the Nara boy. "So what? And about the protector, It's a long story, but in the end, Iruka-sensei allowed me to become a ninja and graduate with the rest of us. Isn't that great!" Naruto jumped into the air, flowing his hands into the air wildly.

"Totally wickedly troublesome!" Shikamaru casually put his hands behind his back and invited the blond into his house to prepare for their big day, the grand finale to their academy life. When they become semi-men and can handle themselves. Oh yes, today is that day!

"Hey, Shikamaru, where are your parents? Aren't they going to congratulate you? I mean, us graduating is a miracle if anything!" Naruto said, taking a swish of the soda in Shikamaru's refrigerator. He tossed Shikamaru one too.

"Nah, they're on an important stealthy A-rank mission, but they wished the best of luck to all of us." Shika explained as he caught the Coca-Cola that Naruto beamed at him.

"Cool." Naruto sadly said as he sat down on the couch.

"Hey, at least we're gonna graduate. I didn't think I could do it." Shikamaru took another swish of his soda can.

"Yeah. Well now that we got something to drink, how about we hit Kiba's house?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah, I would, but you know how their house smells." Shikamaru pinched his nose.

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Naruto chuckled, knowing that Kiba's house can never smell good with all the canines.

"Hey, time sure does fly by fast. It's already 8:45. We might as well go to the academy and graduate." Shikamaru and Naruto both got all the equipment that they need and dashed out of the Nara residence and were one of the first ones in the academy for a change.

* * *

Everybody had joined together to talk about how they're going to be so strong and whatnot.

"Hey, Kiba, Aren't you glad that we're going to graduate today!" Naruto poked Kiba Inuzuka on the shoulder.

"Yeah. It sure is a great day. Yahoo!" He excitedly answered back.

That was when Iruka Sensei had entered the room. He had a grin on his face as he saw Naruto. He had various papers in his hands. Some were awards, others were merely the teams that students will be placed on.

"Okay, everybody. Please quiet down. I know that we're all excited because today is a very special day in your lives." Iruka was interrupted by the chants of the students.

"Graduation! Graduation! Graduation!" The students were wailing their hands frantically in the air.

"Okay, if you guys are excited now, you're going to be pissed off at this announcement that I'm going to make. Only nine of you will even be considered to become genin this year. The people who fail can try again next year or can get involved in training to protect the Daimyo." Iruka announced. That was the reason for his smirk.

Naruto immediately plumped down in his seat. He turned around to look at Shikamaru. The image on his face was priceless. Everyone was gaping and he had dropped his pencil, that he was ironically holding. He knew it was hopeless. There were so many that were better than him.

Hinata Hyuga's enjoyment had disappeared. What would her dad think of her now? She's going to fail the academy and she's a Hyuga! She's definitely getting disowned.

Naruto had to try his hardest to hold back his tears. Has Iruka sensei lied to him? Maybe he should just return the headband.

"Okay, the team structure is going to be a little different. Teams are arranged based on skill levels. The best of the best are in one team. The middle of the best are in one team, and the worst of the best are in one team. There will be 2 boys and one girl on each team. So without further ado, I shall announce the teams." Iruka took out a piece of paper and began reading from it.

"Team 7- Sasuke Uchiha, Shino Aburame, and Ino Yamanaka."

Sasuke and Shino plainly nodded, eager to test the others skill.

Ino jumped up and started clapping repeatedly while cheering Sasuke's name and gloating to Sakura.

"Ino! Sit down! You can celebrate later!" Iruka already had a vain popping out of his head and he continued to read off the teams.

"Team 8- Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Choji Akimichi."

"Oh, I'm with dog boy and fatso." Sakura Haruno complained, putting her hand on her forehead as she slumped down.

"Hey, I wouldn't be talking giant forehead!" Kiba Inuzuka, aka dogboy, chuckled.

"Okay, and lastly, Team 10."

"Naruto, I don't think that we can make it. Only three more people are left and it definitely can't be us." Shikamaru muttered to Naruto, to which he nodded.

"Team 10- Hinata Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki. These are the nine that shall go on to become genin. Give them a round of applause." Iruka had a cheery look on his face as he cheered, mainly for Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata. The trio tried their hardest to stop the tears that were trying to escape their eyes.

Iruka knew that this was a good decision as when it came to activities where you needed large amounts of chakra, Naruto was at the top. And when it came to anything that required using your brain and doesn't involve writing, Shikamaru was your man. And when it came to taijutsu use, Hinata was the top of all the females.

In a way, Iruka was proud of them. Until the number one rookie, Sasuke, who excels in anything period, answered.

"Iruka, why are the losers even graduating? It's like, we all know that they're just going to dropout." Sasuke said in a calm mood.

Sasuke Uchiha is this year's number one rookie and Naruto's ultimate rival. He's cocky, not as much as Kiba, but still cocky. He hails from the Uchiha clan, so naturally he excels at everything he tries. He's also very popular with the ladies.

"Why do you care to begin with, Sasuke? Are you scared of them?" Iruka grinned.

Sasuke just shook his head. "The only one that could be a threat to me is already on my team. What fun is that?" Sasuke said, acknowledging Shino.

"Well, then why don't you have friendly spars with him once in a while? Team 10's business is not yours." Iruka began shuffling his papers.

"Heh, whatever. But they're going to be interesting." Sasuke smirked, looking at Team 10, who he called, Team Dobe.

"Why don't you shut the hell up, Sasuke! If we were weak, why would you care? I recall you once saying that the weak don't interest you the slightest, but yet you're just itching to get us to not graduate because you fear our potential." Shikamaru stood up and bravely said, awaiting an answer from the Uchiha prodigy.

"Just leave me alone you dobes." Sasuke continued his business, knowing that he had lost the battle.

"Okay, now that the **interruption **is over, I can hand out the awards. The first one is the Rookie Of The Year Award. That one goes to Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke stood up smirking as all his fangirls shouted stuff like they loved him or he's the greatest.

He walked all the way to the front seats and smirked at Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata. Iruka made him stand up and present his award to the class.

"The next one is Outstanding Improvement. That one goes to Shikamaru Nara for getting a B-rank on his clone test." Iruka clapped for Shikamaru as he presented him the award, and Shikamaru smirked back at Sasuke.

"The next one is best use of Ninjutus. That one goes to Shino Aburame." Shino calmly walked up to the stage as Iruka clapped for him.

"The next one is best chakra use, and that goes to Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka signaled for Naruto to come up and present his award to the class.

"The next one is best taijutsu use, and that one was actually a tie as both of them have the same taijutsu rating. Well anyway, it's Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga." Kiba grinned slyly, Hinata blushed slightly, and they both walked up to accept their awards.

"The last one is the best use of Intelligence, and that one goes to Sakura Haruno." Sakura stood up, stuck her tongue out to Ino, and went to get her award.

"As you guys can see, some people qualify for two awards, but we won't give out two because that is greedy, so you get one award and you love it!" Iruka was all out of papers, and as he bid his final goodbye to the group, he remembered to announce the senseis.

"Team 7's sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. She has red eyes so you can't miss her. Team 8's sensei is Kakashi Hatake? Well, I guess I can't disobey the Third's orders. He has gray hair and a blue mask. Team 10's sensei is Anko Mitarashi! She has purple hair. Team 10, you guys are sure up for some intense training. Iruka chuckled. His smile soon faded.

"Well, I guess that's it. We've had some good times, but you guys officially don't need me anymore. It looks like I'll just have to wait for the next group to enter in a couple of months." Iruka said sadly. Everyone in the room declared that they were going to miss him too. As Iruka left, the three teams talked and waited for their senseis.

"I wonder who this Kurenai lady is. She better be damn good if she's going to teach us." Shino bragged as he adjusted his glasses. He was the second best next to the one and only Sasuke Uchiha.

**_Meanwhile at the Hokage's Office_**

The Third Hokage was sitting in his chair smoking his pipe, when he heard a knock on his door. "It's probably Kakashi. Come in!" He invited the knocker in, and as he predicted, it was the gray-haired, mysterious jonin.

"Hokage-Sama, I looked at the team placements, and it has me listed as Team 8's sensei when Naruto is in Team 10. What's the meaning of that?" Kakashi fumed calmly.

"Kakashi, I know that you wanted to be on Naruto's team, but they're going to need a 'different' kind of training, that's why I gave them Anko. But with Team 8, their talented, but they need someone who can mold their skills properly. Where are they going to go unless they have a sensei like you? For some reason, the same worked for you, as you were the top genin and the Fourth was the best jonin. But you had Obito and Rin. Now look at it like this. Kiba is an exceptional shinobi, but not one to be in the top. But he's definitely the strongest in his group, just like you were. You are the top jonin, just like the fourth was. Choji and Sakura are similar to Obito and Rin. They hold back Kiba's full potential, like they did you. But your team did excellent. Do you get where I'm getting at?" The Third Hokage explained.

"Yes. Well, when you say it like that I agree. You can't have everything you want. As long as I'm free to cheer on Naruto, I'm fine with it." Kakashi slowly left the Hokage's office.

"Of course Kakashi. You can even side train him with Anko's permission. Sorry, I know how much you wanted to be on Naruto's team, but I was over ruled on the final decision."

"Yes, Hokage-Sama, I understand perfectly. Well I might as well get to the academy to pick them up." Kakashi left the room to go to the academy, where he'll hopefully meet Naruto.

* * *

"Hah! I can't believe that you guys graduated. Now Naruto's going to be all over me!" Sakura fumed at Naruto.

Sakura Haruno was the most intelligent girl in the class, according to grades. She was Naruto's biggest crush. Unfortunately for Naruto, she was a Sasuke lover; she had an intense rivalry with Ino over him.

"Yeah right, Sakura! Don't act like you don't love me!" Naruto chuckled. He thought that Sakura was cute, but he didn't know if he liked her.

"In your dreams!" She replied back.

At that moment the door opened and a lady, between her 20s and 30s with black hair, red make up, and blood shot red eyes. She looked at the nine genin observably.

"Team Seven, come with me. We've got some training to do." Kurenai signaled for Team Seven to follow her, but they stayed for goodbyes. 'So these are the top students? This will be fun' The newly appointed jonin thought.

"I can't believe I'm on Sasuke's team! This is a dream come true!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs.

Ino Yamanaka was the top scoring female of the class. She was also the loudest. Like Sakura, she has an intense infatuation with Sasuke, which caused them to be rivals. She has an interesting past with Shikamaru and Choji, as their dads were childhood friends.

"Yeah, well live it up while you can 'cause I'll beat him into a pulp someday!" Kiba threatened. Sakura scoffed.

"Whatever, Kiba! Sasuke will beat you hands down!" Sakura interrupted. Kiba scowled.

"Oh yeah! Well I hope you all know that I'm going to be the strongest!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at Kiba.

"I think you're all troublesome and should shut up." Suggested Shikamaru. Kiba viciously howled.

"Don't boss me around, Nara! Naruto, you'll never beat me! I would've been the rookie of the year if it wasn't for my cooperation grades and my conduct!" The Inuzuka ninja told Shikamaru. It wasn't true, but Kiba would've definitely been number two in the class if it wasn't for his cooperation grades.

"Whatever, Kiba! You couldn't even beat me! What makes you think you stand a chance against Sasuke!" Ino challenged dogboy, and of course, Kiba could never resist a challenge.

"You callin' me out!" Kiba roared as he charged at the Yamanaka heiress. All the Genin sweatdropped, knowing that Kiba is very short tempered. Before anyone could stop him, Kiba landed the first punch.

Ino flew back into the wall, a little blood dripping from her mouth. Kurenai stepped in at that moment. "You there! What do you think you're doing! Don't you know never to lay your hands on another Konoha shinobi!" Kurenai reprimanded.

'_Wow! His attack was so fast; I could barely even see it! He's probably one of the physically tougher ones.' _Kurenai complimented Kiba in her thoughts.

"I don't like when people mess with me." Kiba calmly stated. Kurenai nodded and promptly demanded her team leave with her, and they casually followed, Ino wiping the blood from her mouth. She looked at Kiba with fear.

"Kiba, don't you think that was a little too much? I know it's Ino, but you should practice some restraint." Sakura suggested. Kiba shook his head.

"I won't let anyone challenge me. I came in fighting and I'll go out the same." Kiba stubbornly replied.

"Hah! Well if it was me I would've got up and pummeled you to the ground!" Naruto threatened. Kiba, of course, assumed his battle stance.

It was at that moment that the door slammed open and came a lady, who's probably in her thirties, who was eating dumplings, and had a tan long jacket over her. Her purple hair was what amazed most. She gave a vicious stare to all the children.

"Hey, the punks on Team Ten! Come with me! I'm going to work all your asses off!" Roared the lady, who was apparently Anko Mitarashi. Team 10 now knew why Iruka pitied them. She was a complete bitch! The kids remained in their seats. This just made Anko madder.

"Did I stutter or are you just deaf? Get your asses over here! I don't have time to be dealing with this crap!" Anko yelled and left, the kids reluctantly following her to Section Z, a secret training spot in Konoha that was locked away due to forbidden jutsus being practiced there. Anko had a key to get in.

* * *

"Okay, maggots! This is Section Z. We're going to be training here often! But first I think we should get to know each other. You girl! State your name, your likes, your dislikes, and your dream!" Anko pointed her dumpling stick fiercely at Hinata, making the poor girl wince.

"U-um, My n-name is Hinata Hyuga, and I like p-p-people who are kind, and I dislike people who get c-cocky over nothing. My dream i-i-is to become a successful kunoichi that people will look up to!" Hinata said shyly, fiddling with her index fingers. Anko licked her dumpling stick and shined a menacing grin to Hinata, making her cower in fear.

Hinata Hyuga is Naruto and Shikamaru's teammate. She is extremely shy and has a huge crush on Naruto. She's very kind and is willing to help everyone. However, she has a secret that she hopes will never be revealed to anyone.

"You like people who are nice, eh? Well, you're going to hate my guts!" Anko threw away her dumpling stick onto one of the many trees in the forest.

Anko pointed to Shikamaru. "Hey you! Why don't you take the time to get your butt up and introduce yourself!" Anko hit Shikamaru dead on the head, which woke the lazy boy up.

"Yeah, Yeah. My name is Shikamaru Nara. I like sleeping, I dislike troublesome people and my dream is to not be surrounded by such troublesome people." Shikamaru muttered.

Anko actually chuckled at what the boy had said. "You're easy going. I like you." Anko admitted as she stared at Naruto. He looked like he was about to explode.

"Haaaah! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like Cup Ramen! I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook cup ramen! And my dream is to become Hokage!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, to Anko's annoyance.

"A little louder. I don't think they heard you in the Sand Village!" Anko yelled in Naruto's face, scaring the little boy.

"Well, anyway, let's get to the training. You think that you guys are genin, but you're not yet." Anko explained.

The kids eyes widened in shock. Not another one of these? When will they finally become genin for real?

"That's right. There's one more test. The test is simply you three against me. If you guys win, then you're genin, if I win, back to the academy for you guys." Anko fakely pouted and put up a goodbye sign.

"Three on one! Don't worry you guys! We have this one in the bag!" Naruto cheered.

For once Shikamaru was actually motivated. "Well, I got this far. Why give up now?"

Hinata was instilled with a little fear. "Y-y-you guys. Don't get cocky. She's a jonin and we're barely genin." Hinata reassured.

"Yeah, Yeah. Let's just fight!" Naruto lunged at Anko with all his speed, which wasn't very fast. She simply threw him back to the group.

Shikamaru had instructed Hinata to use her family fighting style on Anko, the Gentle Fist.

Hinata started manipulating chakra and converting it to her hands as she charged at Anko and delivered powerful attacks, but none managed to reach Anko.

But while Anko was busy dodging the attacks, which had precisely good aim, Shikamaru's shadow started stretching to her. She noticed this at the last second and jumped away about ten feet.

"Well, well, well. Hinata, you're pretty proficient in the Gentle Fist fighting style, that's something to worry about. Shikamaru, you have the Shadow Possession jutsu to stall enemies and depending on the situation, attack enemies. Naruto, you haven't shown me your skills, yet." Anko teased Naruto.

Naruto smirked. "Yeah, well get ready to gawk at this! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto instantly made dozens of clones surround Anko. Anko was too shocked to react. 'How could this kid have possibly learned the Shadow Clone jutsu.' She thought, amazed. 'I guess these kids have potential.'

"Everyone attack now!" Naruto commanded as the shadow clones jumped Anko and Hinata joined with her Gentle Fist, which is ironic, because it wasn't so gentle. Shikamaru played in the background, sneaking his shadow to Anko for the kill.

Anko had defeated all the clones and had taken out Hinata, but was too busy to remember about Shikamaru's shadows.

Suddenly, Anko could not move anymore and had no control over her body. "Wha- what's wrong with me! What did you twerps do to me!" Anko demanded as her hands slowly rose up into the air, mimicking Shikamaru.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, success!" Shikamaru rose one hand into the air, making Anko do the same. "So many clones means so much shadows. That was the perfect time to sneak my shadow in without you knowing." Shikamaru explained. "And conveniently, there's a tree right behind you. If I bend down, you'd be knocked out. So what's your choice?" Shikamaru questioned, knowing he had her caught.

"Well, I have to say, you guys have some useful skills. But when did you take the time to devise such a plan?" A curious Anko wondered.

"Plan? What plan? We don't have a plan!" Naruto answered, grinning widely.

"This is a good team. For you guys to make such a plan without even _making one_ is absolutely genius! So from a long distance you guys can just work it out like you did now!" Anko commented. She smiled. 'Heh, I like this team.'

"You all pass! You're officially Genin! No more tricks!" Anko said just as Shikamaru's shadow wore off. "Good. You would've had us then." Shikamaru put his arm behind his head.

Naruto cheered and hugged Hinata. "Hinata! We're going to be Genin! We're going to show Team Seven who's boss!" Naruto let go of Hinata who was as red as a tomato but miraculously didn't faint. She just stuttered more. "Y-y-y-y-y- yes Naruto. W-w-w-w-w-w-we're finally genin." Hinata choked out.

"Hey you guys meet me here tomorrow. We have got some serious training to do. Shikamaru, I realize that jutsu requires a significant amount of chakra, so I'll help you with that. Hinata, I'll help you perfect your taijutsu skills. And Naruto, I'll help you with chakra control and planning. So be here tomorrow at 9:00 on the dot. DON'T BE LATE!" Anko demanded as she poofed away in smoke.

"Since we're officially genin, I think we should all eat out at Ichiraku Ramen! Yay! I'll pay, so just come." Naruto exclaimed as he dragged his two teammates to his favorite place to eat.

When the trio arrived, they were greeted by Team 8. Naruto looked at Sakura in shock as he sat down on one of the seats.

"Hi, everybody! Sakura, I didn't know that you liked ramen?" Naruto said, bewildered at Sakura who said that she hated ramen anytime he asked her on a date.

"I don't, but Kakashi-sensei said that we could use some good team bonding, so here we are." She bluntly answered. "What about you guys? Having a good time?"

"Yeah. But Anko-sensei is a loud, mean, bitch. Shikamaru's lazy, but smart. Hinata always stutters, but she's pretty strong. What about your team?"

"Kiba's loud, but Kakashi says that he's the strongest. All Choji does is eat food, and Kakashi-sensei is so mysterious and gloomy. This ramen's pretty good, though." Sakura took a slurp of her ramen.

"Hah! Told ya it was good!" Naruto answered loudly, making everyone else wince because they were sitting so close to each other.

"Naruto, can you be any more troublesome?" Shikamaru yelled, his head throbbing.

"Yeah. *munch* *munch* what Shikamaru said." Choji Akimichi agreed.

Choji Akimichi is one of Naruto's fellow Genin. He is also one of Shikamaru's best friends. He enjoys food more than anything in this world, as he comes from the Akimichi clan, who convert food to chakra to perform techniques.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Naruto ordered chicken pork ramen for the whole squad.

* * *

At the presentation that Anko was at, all the jonin had to present their team, if they failed them, then why. Or they could remark on their progress. Of all the jonins that were there, all of them had failed their team or already had one. All that was left were Kurenai, Anko, and Kakashi.

"So, Kakashi, you finally found a team that works for you." Anko congratulated.

"Yeah, they're not the best, but they're manageable. They have serious flaws that I'm going to have to workout with them. Like for example, Choji sits and eats food, and is uncooperative. Kiba, is loud, cocky, and works by himself. And Sakura has no significant skills. In shorter terms, they need a lot of help. We'll work on that though." Kakashi complained, a frown behind his mask.

"Well, for me, the kids are really good. Sasuke's driven to pass Shino in all skills, Shino just wants to improve himself period, and Ino wants to impress Sasuke. So they all give it their all, and it was enough for them to find me." Kurenai complemented.

Anko looked at her. "What test did you give them?" She wondered

"The missing roads one. I gave them clues that wouldn't bring them to me. Shino had his bugs track me, and Ino has her mind transfer. They all found me at about the same time, which is excellent. But I seriously have to teach them about teamwork because they could've used those skills to find me even faster." Kurenai reported.

"Well, for me, my team was actually good. I think the reason they had the worst grades in the academy was because they just didn't try. I had them all face me 3 on 1 just to test their raw power and they're strategic planning. Naruto just jumped at me, and I swatted him away. But he surprised me with the shadow clone jutsu. Hinata is pretty proficient in the Hyuga fighting style that she hails from. Shikamaru sits in the background due to his long range jutsus and waited for an open opportunity to get me. They had constructed a plan by not working together. Naruto launched his clones at me, Hinata used her Gentle fist, and Shikamaru used that as a distraction to get me with his shadow. That's what I call planning. But Hinata could get better at her taijutsu, Shikamaru needs a larger chakra reserve, and Naruto needs chakra control. But besides that, they're a good team." Anko bragged, which amazed the rest of the jonin.

"Wow, to think that they're the failures." Kurenai said, shocked.

"Agreed. I wonder how they'll do in the Chunin Exams." Kakashi wondered.

"I'm not even sweating that. I know they can overcome anything." Anko had a carefree personality.

* * *

The genin were spending their time conversing and thinking about the ultra cool, ultra hard missions that they'd have to accomplish.

"I can't wait for the first mission! I'm going to kick so much-" Kiba was cut off by a gush of swirling wind with leaves imbued within them. Everybody stopped, they were all shocked and amazed. Three teenagers stood in a stoic position, except one. One was about 5 foot 2, the other was about 5 foot 5, and the last one was about 5 foot 9.

Naruto and the gang had a bewildered look on their face as they continued to stare at the three, who just gave back emotionless death glares. They couldn't believe it.

Team Seven had arrived.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Can you believe that Team Seven would actually be at a ramen shop? What are they doing? What's their purposes? It looks like their just itching for a fight! The answer to all these questions will be revealed in the fourth chapter of Children Of Konoha!**

**The story is slowly going to transfer from all the children to the individual ninja's rivalry, just to let you know why they're getting so much attention. Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji eventually, are going to go at it. If you're wondering about The Sand Siblings and Team Gai, just wait. They'll probably appear during the Chunin Exams. That's it! Please read and review! Flames are encouraged because I know this isn't the best story out there so comment on my mistakes!  
**


	4. The Showdown

_I just want to give a quick thanks to -FunyonChick- for making me notice how I wasn't giving Sakura much credit. If you say something like that in your reviews, then I'll post it in my chapter!_

* * *

_Recap_

_Naruto and the gang had a bewildered look on their face as they stared at the three young adults who just returned the emotionless death glares. They couldn't believe it._

_Team Seven had arrived._

* * *

The six young genin were speechless. Not even Naruto or Kiba could mutter a word, as they've been bragging about how good they were. Sasuke and Ino just smirked, and Shino adjusted his glasses. Team Seven was supposed to be there for team bonding, but now that they saw their fellow genin, the three were just begging for a fight to prove how strong they are. Sasuke raised his eyebrows and pushed the collar on his blue top up in complete arrogance, and Ino had whiffed her hair to the side. Sasuke himself was beginning to get irritated at the silence, so he decided to speak up.

"What? Surprised to see that_ we_ would be bonding in the same place that you losers do?" Sasuke sat down next to Shino, who sat next to Ino, and ordered shrimp ramen. Shino ordered beef, and Ino ordered teriyaki with a glass of water on the side.

Naruto growled at Sasuke. Sasuke knew that Naruto would get angry and challenge him to a fight. It was all a part of his plan to beat Naruto into the ground. He anticipated Naruto's answer.

"Sasuke! Don't call us losers! Do you want me to stomp you into the ground?" Naruto stood up, and glared at Sasuke, who repeated his actions.

"Hey! I don't need you two messing up my shop! If you want to fight, take it outside!" Tsuchi, the shop manager yelled at Naruto as he was preparing Choji's long order of everything on the menu except the new diet ramen, with loads and loads of vegetables.

That had ended the match as the ramen was just too good to give up on a fight. Sasuke was mad; He really wanted to pop Naruto's head out.

"Yeah, Naruto! I wouldn't mess with us! That Kurenai lady is nothing; We can take her out if we wanted to! That's how strong we are!" Ino yelped, causing everyone to wince.

"Shut up, Ino-Pig! I bet any one of us could defeat your team! But we couldn't beat Sasuke-kun, 'cause he's the greatest" Sakura acknowledged Sasuke as she blushed and stared at the Uchiha prodigy, who merely shook his head in disgust.

"Sakura, don't even try to fangirl on me. You couldn't beat me, Ino, or Shino. Neither one of you can." Sasuke coldly said and Sakura hung her head down in shame.

Sakura felt highly underestimated. She was the best at chakra control and she had great skills at genjutsu. For Sasuke to say that she couldn't beat Ino-pig was a disgrace. She had to force herself not to cry. "Yes, Sasuke." She fatefully agreed, her eyes tearing. Kiba scoffed.

"I wouldn't get too cocky, Uchiha. I don't care too much for her, but I'll lay you out any day of the week." Kiba threatened, to which Sasuke shook off. It angered Naruto that Kiba didn't care about his teammate, and that Sasuke was putting her down.

"What's wrong with you, Kiba? You're just going to let Sasuke talk about your teammate like that.?" Naruto yelled in anger. Kiba smirked and shook his head.

"Hey, he wasn't just talking about her, was he? Uchiha was talking about all of us. If Sakura can't defend herself, why should anybody do it for her?" Kiba questioned, only to the intense rage of Naruto.

"Why I oughta!" Naruto threatened. Kiba stood up in his battle stance.

"Let's go! Right now, Uzumaki! I'll show you to mess with me!" Kiba challenged the blond Uzumaki. Before it could escalate any further, Sasuke butted in.

"Hey, both of you, calm down. A fight between two weaklings isn't much fun to watch."

Naruto winced. He switched from Kiba to Sasuke in an instant.

"Sasuke! We could beat your team any day! So don't go around acting like you're all tough!" Naruto stood up, veins throbbing.

Sasuke grunted at Naruto. "What?" He pierced Naruto with a death glare.

"You heard me! I said Team Ten could beat you guys! Anyone here could beat your team!" Naruto yelled in Sasuke's face. Tsuchi tried to calm them down, but they couldn't be calmed. There was too much tension between them.

Shino, the only one that was still laid back, spoke up. "Fine. How about tomorrow at 12:30?" His emotionless face said as his glasses tinted.

"What?" Naruto replied back.

"12:30. A match-up. Team Seven versus Team Ten. What do you say?" Shino stood up and casually put his hands in his pocket.

"Yeah, we'll be there." Shikamaru confirmed. He knew that the team was doomed to lose, but he didn't want to look like a coward to get Sasuke's mouth running some more.

"Heh, I can't wait to kick your butts." Sasuke crossed his hands arrogantly. "Come on, you guys. Let's blow this place and go train." Team Seven agreed, all with smirks on their faces.

Naruto looked at Sakura, who was gushing her eyes out. Why would Sasuke say something like that to her?

"Don't worry Sakura. I'll beat Sasuke for you. Believe it!" Naruto flashed his thumb at Sakura and gave her a big goofy grin. He looked at the stoic, yet overly excited Inuzuka. "You want to join in on this, dogboy?" Naruto teased.

Kiba shook his head. "Nah. With a team like this, it'd be impossible to win. I'd be glad to take the six of you on by myself, but Kakashi might not like that too much. He already says I have a teamwork problem." Kiba explained, to which Sasuke nodded.

"Don't we all?" The Uchiha agreed.

"Yeah, well I'm going home to go rest before the showdown. Call me when you want to train." Shikamaru paid for his ramen, and left Ichiraku's. Naruto and Hinata followed closely behind him.

"Hey, Choji, do you think they stand a chance?" Sakura asked, now that she was done crying.

"No, not a chance." The Akimichi said.

"Don't underestimate them. Naruto, Shikamaru, even Hinata, combined they could probably beat us." Kiba predicted. Choji's mouth hung wide open.

"What! They couldn't beat us Kiba! You're like, super strong! *Munch* *Munch*" Choji complimented, but Kiba still kept a straight face.

"That may be true, but you guys are way too weak too stand a chance against them. It really irritates me, because I want to get in that battle." Kiba taunted, and once again Sakura and Choji hung their heads down. Kiba, not even understanding what he said, nonchalantly left to go home.

"He's a real jerk." Sakura whispered to Choji, who nodded his head in agreement.

The rest of Team Eight then left to go their respectful homes to get some sleep before the fateful showdown.

* * *

_The Next Day, 9:00 am, Section Z._

The three young genin scurried to the training ground, each coming to train. But something that they couldn't get off of their mind was the fight with Team Seven that was supposed to occur three hours from now. Hinata was frantically biting her nails, Naruto looked like he hadn't slept in days, and Shikamaru looks like he **has** been sleeping for days.

When the three met in the huge forest, they stared at each other with fear visible in their eyes. They all knew what the other was nervous about, but no one stood up to discuss any battle plans. Shikamaru stumped himself on the ground and awaited their instructor.

Naruto looked at his friend, who just didn't look the same. It was the first time he's ever seen fear in Shikamaru's eyes. He'd always rub everything off with 'What a drag.' or 'How troublesome'. But today, Naruto could see that Shikamaru wished that he could stop time and just avoid the fight, but it's not like that.

Naruto gazed off to the other side of the forest to look at Hinata who was in a corner studying some butterflies. She was obviously anxious to get the fight over with. She knew they were going to have a tough road ahead of them. He hated to see his team so bent up like this over some stupid spar. Was Team Seven really that imitating? They didn't pose much of a threat to Naruto, but he even knew they weren't to be tangled with.

But together, they could beat a jonin. But together, Team Seven could probably beat an Anbu. They were always a couple of steps ahead of them. But they weren't too smart. Except probably Shino, but he's not as smart as Shikamaru!

"Hey, Shikamaru, what's the game plan?" Naruto asked the prodigy, who was just sitting near a tree.

"I don't know Naruto. I guess we just have to find a way; but Hinata's going to have to play a huge role in their defeat. I'll find a way to bind them and you guys can take it from there." Shikamaru was stumped. That was all he could think of.

Than suddenly, Anko appeared with a stern look on her face, and once again, eating dumplings. She was ready to yell her lungs out.

"What's wrong with you kids! Do you not value life! Where do you go thinking you're stronger than Team Seven! They'll eat you alive for Kami's sake!" Anko yelled in the three children's face.

"Yeah, thanks for being so positive." Shikamaru sarcastically said.

Anko looked at the young male and gave him an evil smirk. "Don't back talk me!" Anko threw the dumpling stick and pinned Shikamaru to a wall with its precise accuracy.

"If you guys want to stand a chance, you're going to need some intense training. Shikamaru, you have to learn more about strategy and chakra extent. I'll teach you the finest ways to bind some one with the shadow jutsu. Hinata, all you need is some more training on taijutsu. Me and you are going to spar today. Naruto, you need chakra control and planning also. Let's start right now." Anko threw a kunai at Shikamaru who released himself and then dodged it.

"Fight me with all your strength!" Anko demanded.

Shikamaru stretched his shadow to Anko in hopes of binding her. She easily dodged it, and recorded its limit. Shikamaru ran towards Anko who just kept throwing kunai and jumping back. Shikamaru tried his Shadow Jutsu again and once again Anko dodged it.

Shikamaru climbed the nearest tree and took his jacket off. He let it lay on the tree, then he tied a kunai to it and released it to the air. He jumped off the tree and managed to make a clone. The clone and Shikamaru both extended their shadow, connecting to form a bigger shadow.

Anko jumped back as far as she could and still managed to dodge the shadow, which had a farther limit. 'So if two shadows connect, they form a bigger shadow.' She inferred.

Shikamaru then managed to get the shadow to connect with the jacket's shadow to make an even longer shadow. This shadow was moving so fast and at a long distance. Anko jumped back, but could not manage to avoid the dark shadow's grasp.

"*pant* *pant* *pant* You're pretty good, Nara! I wonder why you have one of the lowest grades in the academy!" Anko was shocked. 'How could this boy manage to get a jonin in his grasp, but can't even perform the tasks that they assigned him?'

"The academy was too troublesome. I just slept through everything." Shikamaru replied, as he released his shadow, due to low chakra.

"Yeah, but your chakra suffers. You need longer shadow time. The longer that other shadows grant you the ability to extend your shadow, the longer you can hold it. You could hold that long one for about 4 minutes. I'll help you with that." Anko said, impressed by the young man's skills and dexterity.

Anko whipped out another kunai and flung it at Hinata. Hinata managed to dodge it, but not as fast as Shikamaru could, and got scraped on the shoulder. Anko grinned. 'Pretty clumsy on her own right.'

Anko charged at the young girl and watched her stumble back and had a cheery smile on her face. She jumped into the air and looked like she would land on Hinata. Hinata moved out of the way, and anticipated her fall. She attempted to hit her with her gentle fist, but Anko grabbed her arm and slapped it down.

Hinata jumped as far as she could. 'I can't be a failure. I can beat her!'

She charged up to Anko, but instead of using her gentle fist, like she thought she would, she did a 360 and kicked Anko dead in the face, sending her flying.

Anko was hugely stunned. 'Why are these kids so strong? Or is it that I'm getting old and I can't keep up?'

Anko got back up and clapped. She sadistically grinned. "Congrats! But it's going to take more than that to beat me!"

Naruto was anxious. Hinata nailed Anko! "Woohooooo! Go Hinata! You can beat her! Make the Hyugas proud!" Naruto cheered on the sidelines while flailing his arms. Hinata blushed slightly at Naruto's recognition. That distracted her enough for Anko to scratch her across the cheek with a kunai.

'So... I see that she's a Naruto lover. That's one of her weaknesses.' Anko examined.

Hinata had blood scattered across her face. She didn't want to go on; She decided that she should just quit. Her father was right.

"Anko-Sensei, you're a formidable opponent. I surrender." Hinata wiped the blood off of her cheek and sat back down on the sidelines, embarrassed that she could be so easily distracted.

'Lack of courage to keep fighting. I guess that's her problem.' Anko thought, surprised. 'She also seems to have a fear of blood.'

Naruto stood, with his mouth gaping wide open. 'Hinata could have beat her!'

"Well then. Naruto, come at me with your full power! I want to see what you can do!" Anko made a hand gesture signaling Naruto to come to her.

The orange jumpsuit attaining blond ninja sprung towards Anko with a kunai in possession and made a shadow clone. He threw the kunai at Anko who carefully moved out of the way. The shadow clones speed had already reacted to where Anko was going and jabbed her in the back. Anko coughed up a little bit of blood. The punch wasn't very strong.

Naruto chuckled at his sensei's pain, and made another shadow clone that jumped at Anko. This one was even faster. It jabbed her with a mediocre punch which still did manageable damage.

Naruto threw the kunai at Anko, which she gracefully dodged.

'He's more of a head on kid. He'll be easy!' Anko formed a hand seal and summoned a snake that restricted Naruto to a tree, and was squeezing him. Anko immediately dismissed the snake and called up Naruto's match. "Didn't mean to hurt you. But you lose. It looks like Lazy Boy over there is the only one that can beat me!" Anko said, shocked.

"I coulda beat ya! You forced me to give up!" Naruto argued.

"Because I was about to choke you to death!"

"Like I care!" Naruto rolled up his sleeves and stood face to face to face with the older woman and gave her a grimacing grin. The tension between the two was extreme.

"Can we all stop fighting and prepare for Team Seven? With this attitude, we'll never be able to beat them! You did get us into this anyways Naruto. You love picking fights with people." Shikamaru compromised.

Naruto and Anko stopped the fighting as they knew that Shikamaru was right. Anko sighed.

"Yeah. You guys are pretty capable and are able to handle yourselves, so I think that you're ready to take on Team Seven. Besides, there is not much more that you'll need to know before the fight in two hours." Anko knew that the team was ready and was proud of their considerable progress.

"Well, I guess we can't learn much more. We all have learned how we can push ourselves, so I think we're ready." Hinata agreed. Ino didn't seem too strong to her.

"Oh yeah, and after the fight, Come back here for your first mission." Anko announced as she continued to walk away, ending training two hours earlier.

Team Ten gulped. They decided that they should come up with new strategies to defeat Team Seven. They discussed their ideas together. Of course, they all went with Shikamaru's master plan. But they were all excited for their first mission, they couldn't get Team Seven out of their minds.

"I wonder how the fight's going to go." Naruto wondered. They all were full of anxiety.

* * *

_10:30 am, the Third Training Field, the same day._

Team Seven stood, all of them exhausted. On the floor near the three logs, sat Kurenai, drained of all her chakra. Her wild hair was out of place. She had just tested the kid's strength in a one on one match, and all of them defeated her. She knew that those three would wipe the floor with Team Ten.

Sasuke looked at his teammates and grinned, knowing that they had this victory in the bag. Sasuke excelled in mostly taijutsu, Shino in ninjutsu, Ino in ninjutsu and somewhat genjutsu. Shino suggested that they trained for thirty more minutes.

"Yeah, we want to look as good as possible when we whoop Team Ten." Sasuke agreed, stretching his arms out as the three very talented ninjas went to different logs and practiced their taijutsu and ninjutsu, except Ino.

Sasuke managed to break his block with his fast one legged taijutsu. Shino doesn't do taijutsu and used his bugs to eat at the interior of the tree. Ino managed to break her wood in half. Kurenai marveled at their strength. She pitied Team Ten.

"You guys are going to be too much for Team Ten." Kurenai complemented, her hair was all over her face.

"Tell us something we don't know!" Ino bragged as she flashed a big smile at her sensei.

"Okay, you guys! Continue training your hearts out if you want to crush Team Anko!" Kurenai demanded.

Sasuke, Shino, and Ino were all trying to develop their ninjutsu to its full potential.

Kurenai, who was impressed at their quick speed of gaining strength, ended the session early. She gave the prodigious team time to relax and rest, as she knew they were exhausted. She left to go report the team's progress at the jonin session.

* * *

The three jonin were once again at their own little spot to report on their team's progress. Kakashi went first.

"I'm extremely pleased with my team's improvement. I found out that Sakura has a knack for genjutsu and has real great chakra control. Kiba has an excellent sense of smell and Choji is willing to put his life on the line for his comrades, a trait I find highly respectable. Kiba could respect them, however." Kakashi bragged, actually getting used to this team.

"Well, Team Ten is actually quite strong. Shikamaru seems to be a more strategic person. Hinata's strong but just needs some more courage. Naruto has potential, but I didn't want to hurt him." Anko lied about Naruto's part. She knew that he would become a very strong ninja.

Kurenai went last. "Team Seven is obviously a team full of prodigies. Sasuke has excellent taijutsu. Shino has marvelous ninjutsu, and Ino's jutsus are flawless. I'm waiting for their duel with Anko's formidable team." Kurenai lied to show respect to Anko. She knew her Team Seven couldn't lose.

"Well, it looks like this meeting is over. The match is in only ten minutes." Kakashi said. "More like the match will only be ten minutes." He joked, making Kurenai giggle.

Anko beat him to a pulp. "Don't mock my team ever again!" She said in between kicks and punches.

* * *

_TIME: 12:30 Date: September 7th. Place: Chunin Exams Finals_

"You guys, you're going to see this place in awhile, so remember it." Kurenai assured.

The six junior ninjas stared each other down with a menacing grin. Team Seven's position was as follows, Sasuke in front, Ino behind him to the left, and Shino behind him to the right.

Team Ten's position was like this: Naruto in front, Hinata behind him to the left, and Shikamaru behind him to the right.

Sasuke crossed his arms in arrogance. He didn't have time for this; they would just have to end this match quickly.

Shino adjusted his glasses. Not shown by his super calm attitude, but he's probably the most eager one to fight. He was raised like that. No mom, he had to fend for himself. So he had gained an unusual knack for fighting not seen in others his age.

Ino was giggling. Shikamaru was her childhood friend; they used to fight all the time. She sighed, wondering what happened to that bond.

"Are we gonna stand here, or are we gonna fight?" Naruto eagerly questioned.

Shino stared at him intensely. Kakashi came between the two teams. "The rules are: No trying to kill. Once everyone on a team can't fight or refuses to fight, they lose. We will interfere if we think you're going for a life threatening move too." Kakashi explained to which the ninja's nodded.

"Ready, Set, Fight!" Kakashi waved his hand and pulled back.

Naruto, being who he is, stupidly charged into Sasuke, preparing to deliver the first blow. This went against Shikamaru's plans however.

"Naruto, pull back! Pull back!" Shikamaru commanded only to fall on deaf ears.

Instead of Sasuke, Naruto met Shino's cold, hard, fist. The impact forced Naruto back to where Shikamaru and Hinata were.

Naruto was now bleeding. He was utterly surprised by the force of Shino's attack.

"Shika! What's the plan. Sorry about that." Naruto goofily grinned. Shikamaru slightly smirked.

"It looks like we have to take our own man. I'll take Shino. Hinata'll take Ino, and you Naruto, will take Sasuke." Shikamaru instructed.

Naruto was fired up to get a chance to defeat Sasuke once and for all. He eagerly awaited for Shikamaru to officially start the battle plan.

Hinata was rather anxious to spar with Ino, as she was well aware of her ninjutsu prowess, and even her taijutsu prowess. She reluctantly agreed to Shikamaru's plan.

"All right! I'll beat Sasuke to a pulp! Let's get moving!" Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata charged at their respective opponent.

Hinata charged at Ino, and delivered a punch, which was just her warm up. She activated her Byakugan and gave Ino her full power, but Ino had nice dexterity. Now Ino was the one delivering the blows and Hinata was blocking, some sort of anger fueling her passionate fighting. After blocking Ino's 16-hit combo and an extra kick aimed at the head, Hinata dropped down and used Gentle Fist on Ino's right leg, making it feel significantly weaker. Ino responded with a hard left kick, making Hinata fly back, blood oozing out of her left nostril.

"You can't beat me Hinata! You never could!" Ino bragged as she charged at Hinata with chakra in her foot. She tried to kick Hinata, but Hinata grabbed her leg, flipped her on the ground, stumbled up, and threw her as hard as she could, which was far for her.

Ino's dress was all rumpled and dirty, angering her. She cut off a lock of her flowing, colorful, lush hair, and sprinkled it all around her, but kept a little strand of it.

"That hair was weighing me down. Now let's fight Hinata!" Ino stood in the circle of her cut off hair, waiting for Hinata.

Hinata rushed at Ino, and just as Ino expected, she stepped in her hair. Hinata now couldn't move; She was stunned.

"What is this?" The girl questioned. "Why can't I move?"

"Simple. My hair had chakra imbued within it. That was enough to bind you. Now I'm ready to unleash my Mind transfer jutsu!" Ino made the rat sign and just like that, her soul was within Hinata. She now had full control over the Hyuga girl.

"I think it's time for me to interfere." Ino stumbled to Hinata's team with her body in hand. Hinata's body felt so fragile. She winced in fear of how hard their sensei must train them.

She came over, looked at Sasuke and Shino, gave them a smirk, and began to talk in a Hinata-esque voice.

"Ino-chan was a worthy opponent, but she lacked the proper skill needed to win the match."

Shikamaru stared at 'Hinata' for a moment. He sensed something fishy about her. As long as he has known her, he knew that Hinata would never criticize someone.

"Ino, I know it's you. Just come out. Hinata wouldn't talk like that." Shikamaru inferred.

"Shika-chan, what are you saying? I have Ino here to show you." 'Hinata' showed Shikamaru the body.

"Okay, Shikamaru, let's just see about that!" Naruto lunged at Hinata, stole Ino's body and quickly started pounding away at it.

"Rats! I didn't know you could figure me out so quickly! Mind Transfer Release!" Ino was back to her regular body, but was severely injured. Hinata, who was just getting a hold of her self once more, attacked Ino with a hard Gentle fist attack slightly below the chest, knocking Ino out. As Ino was unable to fight any longer, Hinata was declared the victor of the match.

Ino, blood dripping from her mouth, muttered something to the Hyuga girl. "I never knew that you could be so brutal, Hinata-chan! Let's talk after this is all done." Ino smiled at the Hyuga, a sign of mutual respect towards her.

Shikamaru and Shino hadn't progressed too far in their match. They were just contemplating their game plans.

Shino was the first to attack with a kunai precisely aimed at Shikamaru. Shikamaru caught it with just a small scrape on his palm. With a tight grip, he threw it at Shino, but with horrible aim. Shino didn't flinch. It hit the tree behind him.

"Hm. Your aim sucks, no wonder your grades were so bad in kunai practice. Now, let me show you some of my jutsus." Shino summoned a swarm of bugs all going towards Shikamaru. He skipped back as far as he could to avoid them; The bugs still kept coming though. He started using his feet to repeatedly pound on them, but there were always more.

"Oh well. It's such a drag, but it looks like I'll have to use hand to hand combat." Shikamaru dived at Shino and started engaging in a fierce taijutsu face off.

Shino had stronger taijutsu, however, as he delivered a brutal punch to Shikamaru, sending him flying.

Shikamaru pulled out even more kunai, but this time, they all had explosive tags. Shikamaru waited for a moment before throwing them. Shino stood there, fearless, with his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru threw the exploding kunai at Shino. Shino easily dodged them, but as soon as they landed on the ground, they exploded, causing Shino to soar all the way to the tree with the previously thrown kunai stuck on it..

Little did Shino know, however, that it was also an explosive tag that only went off when it felt contact with more than one object. The burst from the kunai caused the tree to blow up, Shino entangled in the explosion. The Aburame was smoking with the ashes from the blast.

"Hm, a pretty smart and well thought out move, but that's not going to change much." Shino released a dozen of bugs towards Shikamaru's vicinity.

The bugs were attempting to drain Shikamaru's chakra, so he was forced to wipe them all out. Now he only had enough chakra for one shadow possession jutsu and it had to be from short distance, and as soon as it was activated, he had to end the match.

Shikamaru charged at Shino who kept backing up, knowing that Shikamaru can be lethal at short distance.

Shikamaru threw a shuriken at Shino, who jumped away, knowing that it is a trap.

Shikamaru knew that the chances of him winning were slim. He performed a clone jutsu and it charged at Shino who backed up until he bumped his head on the tree. The clone collided with the Aburame prodigy.

Shikamaru moved up a few feet and unleashed his Shadow Jutsu at the restrained Shino. The attempt was successful and as the clone disappeared, Shikamaru bent back, causing Shino to do the same. But what they didn't know was that there was an obstacle behind both of them.

There was a conveniently placed brick behind Shikamaru, but luckily, he missed it. "Woahhhhh!" Shikamaru fell due to lack of balance and hit his head flat on the brick. He was now laying motionless.

Before that, Shino had already hit his head on the tree and was knocked unconscious.

"That's what I call _using your head!_" Shikamaru joked. "Next time, though, I should look for my surroundings. That could have been more lethal if I hadn't seen the block." He rubbed his shoulder, and helped Shino up.

"Heh, you're pretty strong. I don't know why I'm conscious." Shino wondered, rubbing his bruised head and adjusting his glasses.

"It's the author. He just wants us to reveal some sort of grudging past. What a drag." Shikamaru shook his head.

"Well, our past isn't the happiest one. We used to be friends until that day."

_Flashback! Yay!_

_It was a good day for the Naras. Their son Shikamaru was preparing for his first day at the academy when the Aburames, who were good family friends showed up. This wasn't a good start for Shino and Shikamaru. Some will call it stupid to have a grudge over this, and some will call it cute. But you can call it what you like._

_The Aburames and the Naras were talking about politics and who should succeed the third hokage as the fifth hokage and how their kids would be enrolling in the Konoha ninja academy. Basically they started to brag about their children and how they were so special and strong in their own way and smart. Many thought a good choice was jonin Kakashi Hatake. The kids wouldn't understand, so Shikaku sent Shika and Shino to the play room to bond with each other._

_"Hey, my name is Shikamaru. What's yours?" Shikamaru extended his hand to Shino as a sign to shake and introduce himself._

_"Shino. I don't shake hands."_

_"Oh, well then. This is such a drag. The adults always lock us up in this dump whenever guests come over. But I guess it's okay because I can make friends, and dad says I need more friends."_

_Shino nodded and observed the room. Nothing was of interest to him except a gold jar. He walked over to it and tried to sneak a peek, but the other 4-year old stopped him._

_"Hey, you might be hungry, but that's my cookie jar. No one but me can have it." Shikamaru commanded._

_"Oh, so you must like these cookies. Sorry, Here take this one and I just won't take any." Shino threw the cookie at the boy._

_Now Shikamaru felt greedy and guilty. "Shoot! I can't be greedy! Just grab one out the jar and we can eat them together." The Aburame boy happily took one chocolate chip cookie out of the jar and sat on the bean bag chair next to Shikamaru._

_Shikamaru got some milk out of a mini fridge and poured two cups for him and Shino._

_"Now, let's eat!" Shikamaru dipped his cookie into the milk for fifteen seconds and Shino for twenty. Shino happily munched on his cookie until it was finished and gulped down all of his milk._

_Shikamaru took one bite of his cookie and started to chew on a wet, hard thing. He spit it out onto his hand and there lay the body of a dead... BUG!_

_Shikamaru screamed on top of his lungs. Shino started chuckling. "I see that you saw the bug that I placed in your cookie." He said in between laughs._

_"Shino Aburame, from this day on, we are sworn enemies!" Shikamaru screeched_

End Flashback

The two young men chuckled softly, while breathing hard.

"Such a stupid and pointless argument." Shikamaru concluded, and Shino nodded his head in agreement. "But those cookies were good." He mumbled.

"Yeah, they were. But Shino, you want to just forget about our team's rivalries. I mean we can be friends if it's okay with you."

Shino lied on the floor and gave Shika a nod. Shikamaru gave a lazy grin.

Naruto and Sasuke were both competing in a fierce head to head taijutsu competition, with Sasuke busting out the better of the combos. He was too fast for the Uzumaki. Although Naruto's teammates could take their opponents, Sasuke was too fast and strong.

He performed numerous versatile combos, for instance when he dropped to his feet, tripped Naruto, continued attacking him in midair while his hands were on the ground, and end it with a double kick and flip backwards and unleash a fire ball jutsu.

Sasuke continued to pummel the boy and make him bleed. He hit him with dozens and dozens of high speed combos, until finally the Uzumaki attempted to gain the advantage in the match.

Naruto quickly summoned ten Shadow clones to all charge at Sasuke. The clones all managed to land a hit on Sasuke, as he was stunned that Naruto even knew the jutsu.

"Heh. You surprised, Sasuke? Don't be, there's plenty more where that came from!" Naruto jumped in the air and created three Shadow clones. They all performed somersaults and slammed their heels onto Sasuke's shoulder and his head, causing him to collide into the ground with fearsome force.

"That's my Clone Spinning Heel Drop jutsu! There's no way you can get up after that!" Naruto teased, thinking he had won this one.

Sasuke, however, thought differently. That attack didn't seem to phase him the slightest. Everyone witnessing was overwhelmed. "I'll never let you defeat me, Naruto!" Sasuke jumped in the air and performed the Horse-Tiger seal.

_'He's not doing the...?'_ Kakashi thought to himself, amazed at Sasuke's impressive jutsu arsenal.

"Let's see if you can handle this! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke made a ring with his hand by using his thumb and index finger to unleash a devastating orb of roaring flames.

Naruto could only stare in awe at Sasuke's intensity over the match. He didn't really have any jutsu that can compete with something like that. He did what he knew how to do best and started running away from the Uchiha's technique.

As fast as Naruto was, he ultimately couldn't avoid Sasuke's remarkable technique and was scorched hot.

Sasuke smirked, satisfied with his victory. He casually stuck his hands in his pocket and attempted to walk away from the scene, but the number-one-knucklehead had a different idea in mind.

"Where you going, huh punk? You think a technique like that's going to stop me?" Naruto stood once again, angering the Uchiha. He charged once more, preparing for one final blow.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Sasuke turned around and did the same. The two genin converted chakra to their hands and jumped right at each other, having absolutely no intention of turning back. Their teammates both stared in anticipation of the ending result.

Right at the last second, however, Naruto ceased his attack and stood disappointingly at Sasuke. The Uchiha prodigy followed suit, oddly looking at Naruto.

The orange-clad ninja had an obvious look of regret in his eyes. All the attendants of the match gazed at him in shock."Stop, I can't go on. I refuse to fight my own Konoha shinobi. Team Seven wins! Anyways, Sasuke, I'll fight you when the time is right, then you'll see what I can do! Believvveee It!" Naruto punched his right fist in the air.

An exhausted Shikamaru and Hinata were shocked. Did Naruto just quit? That was unexpected; If there was one thing they knew about Naruto, it was that he wasn't a quitter.

"Shikamaru, Hinata. Good job on taking those two out, but Sasuke's too strong for any of us. to fight without things getting out of hand. Later, we'll be stronger and will be able to take him easily." Naruto said, determination glowing in his eyes.

"Heh, I can't argue with you. I didn't expect you to fight him in the first place. That's the first time I've seen you quit, though." Shikamaru smirked. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Well, I just didn't want things to get too hectic." Naruto explained, adjusting his headband. He was still wearing his trademark grin, too.

Sasuke frowned. "Naruto, next time, don't quit. You may be surprised, but you're one of the people I want to face the most. I want to see your full potential. I'm looking forward to our next match."

Those words pierced Naruto like a metal arrow. Sasuke wanted to face him the most? He used to think he was a loser, but those words would seem to serve for Naruto's motivation.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was very pleased with the outcome of the match. '_So Naruto's not as reckless as everyone claims. At least he knows when to withdraw from a match. That's a useful trait to have later on in life.' _Kakashi grinned to himself, knowing Anko was fully capable of training his sensei's son.

Naruto proposed a fist bump, to which Sasuke agreed to. "The feeling's mutual, Uchiha." Naruto addressed, still with a grin on his face. Ino stood up, ready for an announcement.

"It's getting late. Do you guys want to come over my house for a sleepover? It'll be the Rookie Nine, my friend Tenten, and my friend Raiku. They have teammates but they couldn't make it, nor do I think they want to." Ino explained. Hinata's heart pounded with joy that Tenten's friends couldn't make it. One would wonder why.

"Sure, why not? But just because we're having a sleepover together, that doesn't mean that we're still not rivals!" Naruto informed.

"Of course, of course. We'll always be rivals. But we're all Konoha shinobi, and I bet there will be times when we all go on missions together." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, and a matter of fact, you guys are more respectable now. You must have a great sensei." Shino acknowledged Team Ten.

"Yeah, she i-i- is great. She is so in-in-inspirational to all of us and always makes sure we t-t-try our hardest." Hinata blushed.

"Yeah, but Ino, it sort of seems like you didn't have this planned. How would Raiku come here on such short notice, and who will get the message to Team Eight?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Shika-kun, don't worry, I already sent a messenger bird to all the guy's houses. They should already be going over to my house." Ino explained when a puff of smoke appeared.

It was none other than Anko and Kurenai. "So, who won?" They both asked at the same time.

"Team Seven, but they did put up a good fight. Shikamaru beat me, Hinata beat Ino, but Naruto couldn't beat Sasuke." Shino explained.

"But that means that Team Seven won because they took two people out while you guys only managed to take one out." Anko explained, joy in her heart.

"That doesn't matter, Anko-Sensei. We'll just call it a tie. But next time, we'll blow them out of the water." Naruto made his right hand into a fist and punched it in the air.

Anko smiled. She was glad to have such a modest team, even though they totally won.

"Anyways, we're all going to have a sleepover at my place." Ino assured Kurenai.

The two jonins smiled. "You know what? How about you guys just stay at the sleepover. There's no training tomorrow for anyone in the sleepover." Kurenai explained. She was proud of how the rivalry seemed to end so quick, yet she knew that it was far from over.

"All right! No training!" Naruto jumped into the air waving his hands, only to receive a punch in the head from Ino.

"OWWWEEY Ino! That hurts, you know! Some people have feelings!" Naruto rubbed his bruised head.

"Well, stop prancing around like a wild idiot!" Ino yelled as she grabbed Naruto by the ear and led everybody to her house for what could be the craziest sleepover of all time!

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**Well, that's it! Sorry that I took so long to post this, but my computer was messed up. I know that the sleepover is a little unnecessary, but hey, just because their ninjas doesn't mean that they just can't relax and have fun, Right? And some may have noticed how time transitioned so fast, but that's only because it was mandatory so I could just start with the sleepover during the next chapter, which should also be posted today, due to such a long delay. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. If you did, then review positively. If you didn't, then flame me or give me constructive criticism. Read and review!**


	5. The Sleepover Invasion!

_I'm Back! This Chapter is going to be about the sleepover at Ino's house. This is the introduction of what I would like to call 'filler chapters'. A filler chapter counts and it applies to the story, but something that the ninja's wouldn't normally do in the show. There will be at least five filler chapters, but they won't all be on the same topic. This story will have romance, but the filler chapters are where the romance between the teens shines the most. For those wondering when Neji and Lee will be introduced, I'm trying to fit them into this chapter. Well, I'm talking too much, so enjoy the story, review and you know about the disclaimer!__

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The six ninjas were walking towards Ino's house, and Ino had let go of Naruto's ear, which was now red. They expected to meet Team Eight, Tenten, and Raiku, at the house. They all had the proper supplies for a sleepover, and were all ready to have some fun.

"Woohee! This is going to be the best sleepover in the history of sleepovers!" Naruto yelled, holding his clothes in one bag, and ramen in the other one.

"Why'd you bring so much food, you dobe? There will be tons of food at Ino's house." Sasuke proclaimed, to which everybody agreed.

"Well, maybe I like ramen!" Naruto yelled.

The six teenagers stopped and stared at Ino's big house. It wasn't like the Uchiha or Hyuga residence, but it was big for someone like Ino's clan. The kids saw a girl with a pink shirt and blue pants, with panda bear ears in a bun, Team eight, and a boy with Goku-like hair, dressed more American like. He had a white hoodie, black sweatpants, but he had the traditional shoes that ninja wear, but they came in white. His Konoha headband was a dazzling silver.

"Okay, you guys. This is my friend Tenten. She's a wild chick and very strong. She graduated a year before us!" Ino explained to the group.

Hinata recognized her, but they had never actually talked or anything. *hint* *hint* how does Hinata know her.

"Oh yeah, and we can't forget about this guy right here! His name is Raiku. I know he's not dressed like us and has a cool headband, but he's real strong and fast, so I wouldn't mess with him. His last name is Sashenka and he has a kekkai genkei called the Ketsuken." Ino gave the kids a background check on Raiku Sashenka.

"Oh from the Sashenka clan. I've heard of them, but I've never seen one until today. I heard that there were no more left, but you guys were the strongest clan Konoha had, and probably in the world." Sasuke said, astonished.

"Yeah, it's true. I'm the last one. I was born a day before my whole family was assassinated by the Sand Village. They didn't want us to interfere in the war." Raiku explained.

"Sorry I didn't properly introduce myself. Sasuke Uchiha, at your acquaintance." Sasuke stretched his hand out, signaling a hand shake, and Raiku gladly accepted.

"From the Uchiha clan? I've always wanted to spar with one! Would you accept a friendly spar for tomorrow morning?" Raiku proposed.

"Yeah, this will be a great skill test for the both of us." Sasuke said, stretching his arm repeatedly.

Sasuke had an energetic feeling about this guy. Yet at the same time he was shivering with fear. If he was only one day old, how did he survive the massacre? Either they spared him or this guy is the most powerful ninja that Konoha has ever witnessed. And how come he didn't see him in the academy? He stared at him as he was twirling a kunai in his hand. Sasuke was barely observant enough to notice that his eyes kept on changing slightly from dark black to normal brown. He wondered if that was the Ketsuken that Ino informed everyone about...

Raiku stared at Sasuke. What's he looking at? He'll show everyone his skills. An event he's really looking forward to is the Chunin exams. He's tired of being a genin and he'll finally be a chunin. He could've been an Anbu if they actually let him.

"OK, enough with the chit-chat! It's pretty cold, so how 'bout we go inside and start the sleepover!" All the guys cheered, and ran inside. They put their stuff in a closet, and everybody ran onto the couch. Naruto and Hinata shared a couch, Shikamaru and Ino shared a couch, Sasuke and Sakura shared a couch, Kiba, Shino, and Choji shared the three person chair. Raiku and Tenten sat on the floor.

"So what should we do?" Shikamaru asked Ino.

"I know! How about a rousing game of truth or dare!" Ino suggested. Everyone agreed and the whole group gathered in a circle. This is the formation. Ino sat next to Raiku, Shikamaru sat next to Ino, Naruto sat next to Shikamaru, Hinata sat next to Naruto, Kiba sat next to Hinata, Sasuke sat next to Kiba, Sakura sat next to Sasuke, Choji sat next to Sakura, Shino sat next to Choji, Tenten sat next to Shino.

"OK so, who goes first?" Shikamaru asked, putting his hands in his pockets casually, while taking off his traditional Nara clan jacket, wearing a fishnet.

Ino couldn't stop staring at Shikamaru. He was just always so freaking hot! It's like, she didn't even think that he tried to be so hot. Like it's just passed down in the family. How do they attract such pretty women. If only Sasuke was like that.

"I'll go first! Sasuke... this is for you! If it lands on you, you'll have to do something for me!" Sakura spun it, but very, very, very, soft. It didn't move pass Sasuke once.

Everybody sweatdropped. They were all thinking the same thing. 'Boy was she desperate?'

"Sakura, that's no fair! You have to spin it harder!" Naruto exclaimed, wagging his finger at Sakura in a disappointed way.

"Shut up, loser! No need to get all hyped up!" Sakura spun it as hard as she could, hoping it would land on Sasuke.

'Come on, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke!' Was all Sakura was thinking. The bottle looked like it wasn't trying to stop anytime soon.

Everybody stared at Sakura. 'Damn, she has an arm!'

Suddenly the bottle came to an abrupt stop on Shikamaru. 'Boy, was that weird.' The Nara boy had thought. Everybody sweatdropped.

"Shikamaru? well, I guess you'll have to do. Truth or Dare!" Sakura said in a kind of seductive voice.

""Dare me."

"I dare you to... um... ahhh... ooooh! Kiss me, Shika-kun!" Sakura leaned in next to the Nara boy for a kiss.

"Say what! That was unexpected! But i guess a dare is a dare." Shikamaru leaned towards the pink-haired Sasuke obsessed freak and tried to kiss her.

Sakura surmised that this would make Sasuke jealous, but the Uchiha still kept his cool. She ultimately ended up kissing Shikamaru. It was nice, but she still wondered if Sasuke could do better.

The two broke apart quickly, both blushing. "What a drag. This game sucks. Let's do something else." Shikamaru suggested.

Then the game was over.

"I know! how about an extreme game of tag?" Kiba suggested.

"Huh! what's extreme tag?" Sasuke wondered.

"Heh, I thought someone like you would know Sasuke. Explain it to them Sakura."

Sakura nodded her head. It seemed like Kiba was the leader of the group.

"Extreme tag is when we play normal tag, except you could use all of your taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu that would help you find, stall, or capture your opponents. The other rules are normal. Don't worry Ino, your equipment will get destroyed but we'll take care of it at the end of the game." Sakura explained.

"We play by teams. Ten-ten and Raiku said they don't want to play anyway. Now everyone put your foot in and we'll decide which team goes first."

Everyone put one foot in and Kiba started doing the Mike Tyson thing, except with Bruce Lee. The last person was Hinata, which meant that Team ten goes first.

Strategically team ten was perfect for this game. Hinata could easily find anything with her Byakugan, Shikamaru could stall with his Shadow techniques, and can capture, but Naruto can do that with his shadow clones too, which makes them the perfect team for this game.

Team Ten counted to twenty like they were instructed and they all took a moment to make a strategy.

"Okay, team, this is how it's going to be done. I've constructed a plan called the hook, line, and Sinker. Hinata, you'll will be the Hook. You will use your Byakugan to find people hiding in hard spots or are invisible. When you find someone, alert me, and I'll be the Line. I will stealthily move to the person's position and stall them using the shadow possession jutsu. Then, I will alert Naruto, who will be the Sinker. He will use his shadow clones to trap the opponent in case they manage to escape from my jutsu. Got it? get it? Good!" The three split up and ran to different floor. Hinata on first, Shika on second, and Naruto on third.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and began searching the first floor. She found Choji, who for once was not snacking on chips. He was hiding behind a leather couch. She alerted Shikamaru, who had already captured Shino. Shikamaru hid under a wooden table and was staring at Choji, who was making no sudden movements. He silently activated his jutsu and let his shadow slowly creep towards Choji. Unlucky for Shikamaru, Choji spotted a weird shadow moving and noticed the lazy ninja and bolted off.

Hinata started chasing Choji up the stairs and into the area where Naruto was. Naruto had an army of shadow clones awaiting Choji's arrival. When Choji dashed into the room, he was caught as soon as he saw Naruto.

Hinata and Naruto high-fived each other and Hinata and Shikamaru reported to their respectful places. "Shino and Choji- Caught. Heh, only four more left. This won't be too hard."

That's when Shikamaru noticed a strand of blond hair sticking out from behind the T.V. 'Ino' he thought. She always left a small piece of her hair sticking out whenever she hid.

"Give it up Ino, I've found you." Shikamaru stretched his shadow towards the t.v. she ran as fast as she could to the first floor and 'juked' out Naruto. She kept running and surprisingly Shikamaru was there waiting for her. She used her mind possession jutsu on him. Now she was controlling Shikamaru. She watched guard over her weak body.

But then they all blacked out. Every single one of them. When they woke up, they were all at the Hokage's office ... (Now here comes the climax of the chapter! the unexpected twist!)

The Third Hokage was awaiting all of them. Then he delivered the message. The Leaf Village was being attacked!...

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**Sorry For The Whack chapter... but I've had writer's block... So i'm hype to return to the action...! my next chapter will be released later on today! Read&Review. I need flames and constructive criticism to make the story better! So please give me constructive criticism! Galaters!**


	6. Konoha vs Stone: A Happy Little War!

**Okay, now it's the invasion! this is also a filler. The leaf village gets attacked by the Land of Stone, a small village looking to get revenge on all the Five Great nations For nearly pulverizing it and turning it into nothing but ashes. The Third Hokage has summoned everyone to be on guard, as he knows they want his life to compensate for the damages done! I present to you chapter 6 of Children Of Konoha!**

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A whole bunch of ninjas are cramped in the Third Hokage's office, as he summoned them all. He even summoned people who were supposed to be on guard. The rookies are all anxious to hear what news the Third has to say. All the sensei's are there. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Anko. Everybody's parents are there, except of course, the ones who don't have any. The Third's office was a huge circular room that could hold 50 people easily. All of Konoha was in this room, so it must be packed. The Third Hokage took a big smoke out of his pipe. He was in his traditional Hokage robe. He had a grim look on his face as he got ready to give everybody the info on the invasion.

"Ah-humm. I summoned you guys here because the Leaf Village is about to be invaded by none other than the Land of Stone. They are a small village that used to be very rich and of a decent size. But after the Third Great Ninja War, we have pulverized them and left it as nothing but a small village of extreme poverty. Most of their ninja, except one, aren't skilled in the art of ninjutsu and genjutsu only because they don't know how to handle the techniques, so we have to use our knowledge of ninjutsu and genjutsu to our advantage."

"So what you're saying is that all we should do is properly use our ninja techniques and we can send those troublesome taijutsu freaks back to their pile of rubble and stone?" Shikamaru assumed.

Everybody gave him a shocked look. Shikamaru sure did look pretty hyped about this mission. "What? I don't want those rocky ninjas disturbing my napping time." He yawned. Yup, that sure was Shikamaru for you.

"Yes, that's precise, Shikamaru. But we're not just going to charge into them like foolish idiots. We have to make sure they run into us. You all will split based on category. The anbu will be guarding the gate. We have to make sure that the strongest group guards because that will assure that less people actually enter the village. Than near the entrance of the village will be the jonin. You will try to take out as much as you can. Than at the interior of the village will be the chunin. You will try to hurt them severely. If you can kill them, that's great. After the ambush, leave the rest to the genin. you'll be right outside my office as guard. Just finish them off, I want them to be embarrassed. I'm counting on all of you guys. Nobody better make it to my office. Got it?"

All of the ninjas in the room nodded their heads in agreement. The Third Hokage kept staring at the ball awaiting to see a Stone ninja. He had received a letter from the sand village which told him of their impending invasion.

The genin were all standing in a horizontal line. They were all ready to show each other what they were made of. Hinata looked around, as if trying to spot someone. 'Where is he?' She wondered. Tenten had also magically disappeared, along with Raiku. She found her father, relaxed with her sister. She wondered why she was here. Was she even an official ninja?

Naruto was conversing with Shikamaru and Sasuke. "Heheheh! Sasuke, you're gonna see my true skills today! I will prove I'm stronger than you! Believe It!" Naruto stuck his thumb out at Sasuke and adjusted his forehead protector while giving his goofy full-toothed smile.

Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed out annoyingly. "Get out of my face Dobe!" Sasuke pushed the orange-clad ninja away from him. "I didn't become number-one rookie because i wanted to beat dead-last losers like you. So move it!" Sasuke sure did have a bad attitude today for some reason.

Naruto, who stumbled onto the floor, wasn't going to take this verbal abuse from Sasuke. "You know what Sasuke? I'm tired of you trying to act all tough. I should give you a good ass-whooping right now!"

'Naruto, please don't fight him.' Hinata thought of saying but was too shy to intervene.

"Hey! No one's fighting anyone here unless I get a piece! I'm not gonna miss out like last time!" Kiba growled, as he charged at his rival genin.

"Hey, there will be no fighting here! Who do you three think you are!" Anko grabbed Naruto by the ear, Kurenai held Sasuke back, and Kakashi stopped Kiba dead in his tracks.

"You all are Konoha ninjas. I don't care about any of your foolish rivalries. As long as you're Konoha ninjas, I don't want to see any fighting from you guys." The Third announced.

Then that's when the Third saw a creepy glow coming from his telescope technique. He saw a ninja dressed in a brown jumpsuit and wearing a forehead protector on his waist that had two rocks on it. It must be a stone ninja. He still had a long way to go. But the third dismissed the Anbu just in case there were anymore.

Shikamaru yawned, him, Ino, and Choji, were called by their fathers.

"Huh, so none of you guys are on the same team? That's a surprise, I thought we were going to have another generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination." Shikaku sighed in boredom. He seemed to be a mirror image of his son, only with more scars on his face, and more tan.

"Huh, I've got myself the worst team. We're supposed to be the loser team." Shikamaru said. His hands were in his pockets. Shikaku gave him a shocked look. He was wearing a torn up jacket over his jonin flak jacket. He had fishnet on his arms, black pants, and the same hairstyle as Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, I know that you're stronger than that. You have a strong mind. You just have to learn how to use it to your advantage. I see alot of potential in you guys, so don't give up, and show everyone what you can do." That was Shikaku's pep-talk.

Shikamaru sure didn't seem pepped up. Shikaku had to find a new way to motivate his slacker of a son. "Ok, how about this on for size. You better try your hardest or I'm going to train your ass off for the rest of your life you lazy ass bum!"

Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement, shocked at his father's enthusiasm. "Ok, good."

Ino's father was a clone of her, except a more manly face. He had the long blonde ponytail, and a jonin flak jacket on. Covering it, was a red jacket with baggy black sleeves. He also had on black baggy pants.

"Dad! Dad! I'm in the top genin team! I'm the number one female rookie!" Ino yelled at her father.

Inoichi looked at her with surprise. "Oh yeah! That's my girl! I'm so proud of you Ino!" Inoichi had a great big smile on his face. "Keep working hard, and in no time you'll be a chunin!" Inoichi laughed, but not as a joke.

Choji's father was dressed like a samurai. He was also very big. He had an armor plate over his stomach. "You see Choji, you can do whatever you want to do in life. Don't let others pilot your life! Just try your best at all times! Don't let me down, boy! Show 'em what you can do!"

"Yes, father!" Choji seemed as if he was about to cry. He hugged his father.

"..." -Shino

"..." Shibi

"I'm the no.2 rookie." -Shino

"That's great." -Shibi

Well, what can I say, Aburames are quiet.

The Third Hokage sensed something from his telescope technique. "Ok, enough chit-chat. Everyone get to your respective positions now!"

All the ninja scattered into their respectful positions. Let's see how the jonin are doing.

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As the gate opened about 40 or fifty ninja from the land of stone were remaining. They started with at least 200, according to the Third. The Anbu sure did shave off a large portion of stone ninjas. Now it was the Jonins turn.

The jonins had their star players. Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko, and one Jonin in a green flak-jacket named Guy. He was always talking about the power of youth and what not.

"Heheheheh!" One stone ninja was at the front of the stampede of ninjas ready to demolish Konoha. "If it isn't Konoha's white fang, Hatake Kakashi. So, Kakashi. Do you remember me? Let me introduce myself. My name is Unaru Ritaku. I'm the leader of the invasion."

Ritaku smirked at Kakashi. He was dressed like an actual ninja. He had on a black muscle shirt with no sleeves, and black ninja pants. He had his forehead protector on his forehead, and a mask covering only one eye on his face. His hair was tied in a ponytail and he had tied two straps of hair to come out. He had his nunchuk strapped behind him. He stared at the 30 or so Jonin that were surrounding him, but yet all he could actually pay attention to was Kakashi.

"Kakashi, don't you remember me? I was the one that you fought in that one S-rank mission approximately thirteen years ago. Remember when Konoha wanted your team to come and steal information from us. Well now we're back. And I'm sure you've gotten stronger from the last time when I showed you what a real ninja fight was."

Kakashi stood there totally calm, reading his Ichi Ichi books. Those were his adult books; He has the whole series. His mask was covering up his smile.

Ritaku was losing his patience. Why was this man so calm and collected. "Don't try to act cool, Hatake. Because I will demolish you. We're not here to harm the village. We're only here to kill the village's most prized shinobi. And unfortunately, you're number two on that list, right behind the Third Hokage himself. So don't think for a second you could just be chilled out." Ritaku threatened. Kakashi kept on reading the book. He showed no signs of fear.

All the Jonins stared at the two ninja, who had completely different personas. Ritaku was hyped and ready to kill, but Kakashi was calm and bored. Anko sighed.

"Kakashi, what are you doing? Go show him who's boss!" Anko cheered on.

"Who? That little runt! He's too much of a coward to face me. Nothing but a disgrace to the-" Ritaku was cut off by Kakashi, who had closed his book. and was staring straight at Ritaku.

"If you want to fight so bad. Come on, try me. I know you're very skilled in the art of the assassin and art of the samurai, two very useful arts. So, hit me with your best shot." Kakashi was standing in a fighting pose. Ritaku had a huge grin on his face.

"All right! Ninja technique! Nunchuks of Fury!" Ritaku launched himself at Kakashi, while swinging his nunchuks.

Kakashi looked at Ritaku's nunchuk as if shocked. He yawned. "Woah, those nunchuks look pretty strong and dangerous. Wouldn't want to hurt somebody with those babies." As Ritaku was nearing, Kakashi bent down, grabbed his arms and threw him with a lot of force. "Hey, what are you trying to do, hurt me?" Kakashi continued mocking Ritaku.

Ritaku got back up. He was definitely not out. "Huh, you seem to know how to counterattack my nunchuks, but let's see if you can stop my incredible taijutsu." He charged at Kakashi with extraordinary speed. He was right in front of the stoic Jonin, about to land a punch, when out of nowhere, Kakashi had landed a punch to the stomach.

"Hurgh! You've gotten pretty strong, Ka-ka-shi!"

Raiku got up and wiped some blood off his mouth. He transported as soon as he did so. He appeared in front of Kakashi and landed a stone hard punch to the face. As Kakashi was trying desperately to stand back up, Ritaku smashed him down to the floor with both hands.

As Kakashi, was lying down on the ground, Ritaku's power overwhelming him, He thought of a way to defeat him. He got back on his feet, and just as he expected, was greeted by Ritaku's attempts to smash him into the ground.

He dodged and appeared right behind the stone ninja. He lifted him up by both feet and swung him high into the sky. He jumped up into the air to perform a smash attack, but Ritaku ended up pulling him down and smashed him to the ground. His knees were forcing him head first into the ground.

Kakashi was surprisingly still up and ready to fight once more. Ritaku walked up to him. "I see you never quit, Kakashi. But let's see how you fare against my Iron fist! This technique will literally scatter your brain!" He charged as much chakra to his fist as he could. As he swung at Kakashi, the Jonin ducked and made the hand signals for the Great Fireball Technique. Ritaku was blasted away by the fire.

Than, simultaneously, Kakashi made the hand signals to his Water Drowning technique; Ritaku dodged it easily. He lunged himself at Kakashi with his Ritaku Missile Technique. He bolts himself at the opponent like a missile at high speed. Kakashi is hit by the attack.

To counterattack, He uses the Water Shark Missile technique to create a water shark that bolts to Ritaku. Ritaku tries running but is hit quickly by the attack. He flies out of the gate. Kakashi decides to finish this with his Grand Waterfall Jutsu.

He quickly makes the hand signals and slowly walks towards Ritaku. "Heheh. Any last words. I told you if you wanted to fight come at me. Well, that was your cue to run. But you'll have to learn your lesson. I will defend this village with my life. So be gone!" Kakashi finished the hand seals.

Ritaku was washed away by the tremendous force of the jutsu. "Don't worry, Hatake! We will meet again! This I swear!" Those were the words that came out of his mouth before he washed away off a cliff.

"I have a feeling we're not." Kakashi said with a sarcastic voice.

The other Jonin were holding their own side of the bargain. But half of the stone ninjas made it past the Jonin.

Anko was fighting hard to protect her home village. Three stone ninjas were coming at her from a different angle. She summoned three snakes to attack each of them. But they only appeared to be shadow clones.

One stone ninja was behind her, planning to strike her from behind. She counterattacked and gave them a powerful kick to the stomach.

"C'mon. Anymore of you punks want a beat down!" Anko took out three kunai from her weaponry.

One stone ninja confronted her head-on. She took the first strike, and charged at him. You could frequently hear the sounds of their kunai clashing against each other.

They both pulled away from each other. "My attacks are getting nowhere. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands Jutsu. She summoned snakes from her wrists to attack a large-scale distance. It wiped out a lot of enemies, who didn't seem to stop coming.

Kurenai was having an easy time with her opponents, wiping out everyone that came at her. She is very strong for a rookie jonin.

The invasion was getting tougher than everyone could handle. At the lead of it all seemed to be a young child in the traditional gray jumpsuit. The jonin have defeated as much as they could.

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Now it was all left up to the genin. Twenty more ninjas remained. They were nine genin on duty. Twenty on nine, the odds are against the Konoha Ninja. At the head of the whole attack was a young genin boy whose name was Ochiro Kaziro. Although just a genin, Ochiro was a very powerful ninja, arguably the strongest in all of the Land of Stone.

Naruto, who was arguably the most stubborn out of all the genin in the Land of Fire, charged at Ochiro, with two shadow clones to back him up. Just as soon as he charged he was blown back away. It looked like Ochiro didn't even move.

"What, I don't get a proper introduction? My name is Ochiro Kaziro. I hail from the Land of Stone. Don't take my intentions wrong, for my father was killed by Konoha. I am willing to accept a considerable sum of money in exchange for us giving up on the invasion. What do you say to that proposition? We got through the Anbu, the Jonin, the Chunin, and I'm pretty sure we can get through you scummy genins. This is just between us and your Hokage. We carefully avoided taking anyone's life; All we want is the money to repair the damages from when you guys just trampled over our village." Ochiro demanded.

Ochiro talked with such elegance and grace. When he criticized someone, it actually sounded nice. He seemed like he was about ten or eleven. He was a child prodigy, a natural genius. He never liked hurting people, but would if the events called for it. Even after his Dad was killed by Konoha, all he wants is the money to repair his village. He also had a hairstyle that strongly resembled Naruto's, except his was black, and his forehead protector is on his forehead, but his is gray.

"Heh! We're not letting you guys get past us! Come on, guys, Let's go!"

Naruto and Kiba, who were definitely the most hype about this charged at him. Naruto was going for a direct hit, while Kiba jumped to the behind of him, attacking the rest of the Stone ninjas, with such uncontrollable speed and power. Sasuke and Shino decided to join in on this one. Sasuke used his Taijutsu to take out a large number of ninjas, about ten. Shino was using some weird bugs to drain the rest of their chakra, leaving them powerless. This shocked everyone, because the Third bragged about how they had such excellent taijutsu skills.

Now back to Naruto, Ochiro keeps on defeating his clones and sends him flying back. He let the rest of them deal with the stone ninjas, but Ochiro was definitely the strongest out of all of them. Naruto's lucky that Ochiro's not older and his skills could develop more. The orange-clad ninja got up and tried again. This time, he summoned six shadow clones.

Shikamaru had caught all the ninjas in his Shadow Possession jutsu, and Hinata and Choji defeated the remaining ninjas with their Gentle Fist, and Human Bullet Tank, respectively.

Ochiro was stunned at how these genins took out his henchmen so quickly. He had just finished defeating Naruto and his clones. "Well done. I'm impressed. But it looks like I'll have to deal with all nine of you." Ochiro cracked his neck and suddenly disappeared in thin air. He reappeared right behind Sasuke and kicked him away with tremendous force.

"Sasuke!" Sakura and Ino yelled simultaneously. They both rushed to his aid, but Ochiro appeared before them. He was doing a handstand and pulled his feet in, then pushed them back out with power, causing the kunoichi to fly in the air.

"Hey! Nobody hurts Sakura and gets away with it!" Naruto once again, charged at Ochiro, nine clones following. Each of them decided not to go head-on, but to keep on moving around and looking for the perfect time to strike at him.

Kiba seemed to understand Naruto's game plan and jumped at the Stone ninja. He had Akamaru transform into an exact clone of him. this clone doesn't take one hit; It keeps going until Akamaru gets tired. They both split up left and right, and were closing in on Ochiro with incredible speed.

Ochiro, who was focusing on Kiba and Akamaru, didn't notice the lazy ninja Shikamaru was using the Shadow Possession Jutsu to send his shadow to him to gain control of him.

"What? What's up with me! Why can't I move?" Ochiro yelled. Shikamaru had a devious smirk on his face. "Shadow Possession. Successful!" Shikamaru had paralyzed Ochiro with his clan's most famous technique, which was mostly used to delay an opponent for another to attack.

Kiba and Akamaru got close enough to deliver a strong left uppercut to send him flying into the air. "Yahhoooo! We got him Akamaru!" Kiba yelled in enjoyment. Ochiro flipped and came crashing down at Kiba with a powerhouse kick. Kiba flew back but was caught by Choji. "Good try, Kiba! But now it's my turn!" Choji did the Human Bullet Tank to increase his width.

Choji was an uncontrollable rolling machine. He rolled at Ochiro with power, Ochiro simply stopped him with force. He lifted Choji and threw him far. When Choji landed, who was there but Ochiro with a stone-cold hard punch, that sent Choji hurling back at the team. It gave off an image of a bowling ball being thrown to strike down eight pins.

All the genin dodged it except Sasuke, who was still down from Ochiro's attack, and Sakura, who wanted to take the hit for her beloved Sasuke.

Ochiro decided to pull out one of his ninjutsu, which shocked the rookie nine, mainly because the Third Hokage said only one person knew any ninjutsu or genjutsu in the Land of Stone. It looks like that one was Ochiro. He used the Earth Style: Great Mud River to throw all the ninja off balance. He followed it up with Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb to create a dragon head to fire mud at all the genins. He finished it off with a Fire Style: Fire Dragon Missile Jutsu to compliment the Earth Dragon Bomb.

All the ninjas were attacked by the jutsu, leaving them very vulnerable for a taijutsu attack by Ochiro. Ochiro rushed at the ninjas and started using hand-to-hand combat again. He used the Great Leaf Whirlwind to knock them all off of their feet, and followed it up with a Great Leaf Hurricane.

"Come on! Are you guys done yet! You guys have no chance of beating me! Although I will praise you two for that strategy with the Paralysis jutsu. But you still can't beat m-" Ochiro was cut off by a bunch of shadow clones attacking from every direction. He forgot about Naruto's clones!

The clones performed a front flip in the air, and they all came crashing down on Ochiro, slamming their heels on his shoulder's and his head. Ochiro was slammed face first into the ground. The clones backed away from Ochiro and returned to the genin. "Ha Ha! Now that's what I like to call the Clone Spinning Axe Kick!" Naruto proclaimed, wearing his goofy smile.

When Ochiro got back up, he was bleeding a little bit from his mouth. He had a devious smile on, and wiped the blood from his lower lip. "That was a nice plan, I'll give you that! But let's see if you'll be able to do more things like that!" Ochiro adjusted his forehead protector properly and wiped the dirt from his clothes.

"T-t-t-that was a nice attack, Naruto." Hinata said shyly, blushing a little bit, and playing with her fingers. Naruto looked at her and gave her a full-toothed smile.

"Thanks, Hinata! You're always so nice to me! You're a cool teammate!"

Hinata blushed harder and was about to faint, but she had enough control to establish that this was obviously not the time to faint. 'Oh, Naruto. If only you could know my true feelings for you.'

Ino decided to fight along with the clones. "I haven't had any good attacks yet! It's my turn! Back me up, Shikamaru!" Ino always depended on Shikamaru to help her in fights because of his Shadow Possession Jutsu, which could stall opponents so she could use her Mind Possession Jutsu without risk. Even though they weren't on teams, they worked together better than anyone.

Shikamaru jumped out and did the appropriate hand seals for the Shadow Possession Jutsu. His shadow stretched out in hopes of capturing Ochiro, he kept on moving farther and farther away, only noticing the shadow, once again leaving him open for a surprise mock Leaf Hurricane by Sasuke. It wasn't as strong as Ochiro's, but that was only because Sasuke was just copying what he saw; He didn't actually know the technique, but it did provide for a good delay of time.

Shikamaru took this as the perfect moment to use the Shadow Possession to capture Ochiro, once again. Ino successfully used her Mind Transfer Jutsu on Ochiro. She was now controlling his mind. She made him jab himself in the face a couple of times, and made him throw himself with a lot of force. She also made him stab himself in his shoulder with a kunai.

She was forced to release herself from Ochiro's body. The opponent can only take a certain amount of damage before being released.

When Ino returned to her body, she charged at Ochiro to perform a 16-hit combo, but he grabbed her hand and jammed his palm to her stomach, forcing a lot of blood from her mouth. There was no aftermath, no flying away. she just fell on the ground. Hard.

"Ino!" Shikamaru yelled. He raced to her. "Are you OK?" Shikamaru carried her up and back to the entrance of the Hokage Building. She still had a steady heartbeat, but the thought of his best friend in a fatal condition was too much for even him to handle. Her, Naruto, Choji, and Sakura were his best friends. He couldn't picture losing any of them.

Sakura and Naruto rushed to Ino's side. "What was that, you wonder? It's called a Pressure Attacker. It's very complicated to use but easy to explain. You grab your opponent by the arm, squeeze their vein as hard as you can and then thrust your palm into their chest. It temporarily disconnects their arm and it temporarily knocks you out. Nothing fatal, but she won't be returning to the fight." Ochiro explained.

Naruto frowned. "Shikamaru! We can take him! Just me and you! Let's show the rest of 'em how strong we are! Hinata, you can fight with us too!" Naruto and Shikamaru ran at Ochiro, Hinata behind them. They both split up in different directions, Hinata taking the battle head-on.

Hinata tried to use her Gentle Fist, but was easily overpowered by Ochiro's unique taijutsu style. He grabbed her arm, but instead of squeezing her vein, He transferred chakra to two fingers, and poked Hinata's fist. She felt no power in her hands; He had closed off her chakra points. He swung her around and threw her back to the gang. "Two down."

Once again, he was caught by Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu. "Heh! You are just too easy! Shino, I need you to use your bugs to suck away all of his chakra!" Shikamaru commanded.

"Got it." Shino sent his bugs to eat most of Ochiro's chakra. Once successful, Naruto attempted another Clone Spinning Axe Kick. Ochiro was stunned.

'That shadow brat seemed to be the strategist. Even though for now his jutsu can only be used to stall, he's played an important role.' Ochiro had to take him out, but he knows that close combat is just stupid. He summoned two clones. The three of them ran after Shikamaru. One ran left, the other right, and Ochiro ran straight forward.

All three Ochiros stopped suddenly. All three of them were caught by Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu! Shikamaru stunned Ochiro once again. This had become a running gag in the match.

"Heh, you just never seem to learn now do you?" Shikamaru revealed a cocky grin on his face. "Heh, i told you guys I'm not going to let these Rock Scum get through us and I intend on keeping that promise."

"Oh, Shikamaru! You're so brave! Even though you're a lazy bum most of the time." Sakura cheered for Shikamaru.

"What, you guys think you've defeated me! Get real! I give him thirty more seconds that he can control me for!" Ochiro yelled at the rookie nine. He grinned at Shikamaru. "What'cha gonna do?"

Shikamaru put on his lazy, unenthusiastic face. "A lot. You'll see what I can do in thirty seconds." Shikamaru pulled out a kunai from his pouch, which was in an unusual spot on his back.

He charged towards Ochiro and vice versa. He proceeded to slash him all over his body, while Ochiro was just moving his hands in the motion that Shikamaru was. He pulled back, causing Ochiro to mimic him. He had suffered dozens of cuts and bruises at the hands of such a mediocre ninja, well in his opinion.

"Huh. You like that? Well, now for the finale. he attached a paper bomb to the kunai and threw it at Ochiro. He released the jutsu milliseconds before it exploded causing Ochiro to fly back.

"What a drag." Shikamaru instantly reverted to his usual lazy demeanor, surprising, and shocking everyone. The whole gang was stunned at Shikamaru's unlikely defeat of Ochiro. Everybody crowded up to the lazy ninja and hugged him.

"You guys are so troublesome. Get off of me." Shikamaru tried shaking them off, but they were unshakable. He stopped trying when Sakura planted a kiss on his cheek. "I knew that you'd be useful one day."

Ochiro was buried under stone and rubble. He pushed the rocks away from him. He saw all the genins embracing the one that supposedly defeated him. He thought of this as the perfect opportunity to sneak away. He stealthily hid in a tree and waited for all of their heads to be turned so he could strike. They were headed where they thought Ochiro's body was.

That's when he launched himself out of the tree with a kunai in hand. He was striking for all of them. It was so perfect. That was, until two clones appeared from behind and kicked him in the shoulders, sending him crashing down to the ground. The collision caught everyone's attention.

"We're really getting tired of you; You've turned this place into your own battlefield! Come on Akamaru! Let's get 'em! Fang over Fang!" Kiba and Akamaru turned into two drilling machines aimed at Ochiro. Choji saw this as the perfect time to use his Human Bullet Tank. Hinata, who had recovered but her chakra points were still closed, decided to stall by attacking with her Gentle Fist.

Sasuke used the Great Fireball Technique before all those moves could make contact. Shikamaru decided to stay back. He's already helped a bunch today, and he's exhausted. Shino also decided to let them finish Ochiro, as he had no chakra left anyways.

Ochiro was able to dodge the Human Bullet Tank, but took dozens of hits from Kiba's Fang Over Fang. His shirt was torn up from the aftermath of the jutsu. He was also able to dodge the Great Fireball Technique that Sasuke had used.

Hinata surprisingly appeared out of nowhere with her Gentle Fist technique and started harassing Ochiro with constant attacks. She wasn't able to close off his chakra points so he could use no jutsu, but she was packing a hell of a punch. Sasuke decided to join in on the constant abusing, and kicked him far back. Choji decided to use his Human Bullet Tank now.

When Choji came within range, Ochiro unleashed a massively powerful Leaf Hurricane sending Choji flying into a nearby forest. "Two down ."

He hit Sakura and Hinata incredibly hard with the remaining power he had. "No more playing around. Four down, Five more to go. He viciously attacked Shino with a Leaf Whirlwind, and slammed him to the ground. In this time, he did a Pressure Attacker. He was regaining his chakra points. "Hmhmhm. Five down, four more to go."

"You won't get away with this. You can't just hurt our friends like that! We'll stop you!" Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru charged at him. Sasuke, Naruto and his clones took him head-on in taijutsu combat. Kiba played the role of a pest with his Fang over Fang technique; Shikamaru did his best to try to capture him in his Shadow Possession Jutsu.

These kids were displaying amazing teamwork over the strongest ninja in the Land Of Stone. They were wearing him down; Ochiro had no way to concentrate. Kiba was pestering him with his Fang over Fang jutsu while Sasuke and Naruto were giving him one fistful of a fight. Shikamaru was also giving him no way to retaliate.

Ochiro, having no way to fight, was able to pull off a handsign that looked oddly familiar to Naruto for some unknown. He was not just a taijutsu fighter, they discovered.

"All right! No more playing around! I'll close off your chakra points forever! Five-Pronged Seal!" Ochiro exclaimed, with purple chakra flowing from his hand.

**"You're finished! I've got you all now!"

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**

**Okay, I've decided that this story will count towards the story! I'm sorry I've taken so long! Ochiro will provide a big role later on in the story. I was planning on killing him off at this chapter, but I like him, and I've decided to keep him. This chapter is the big finale to the invasion. Please, PLEASE, PLEASSSEEEE!, Read And Review! I have writer's block! No new chapter until reviews come in! Flames are wanted, matter of fact that's all I want!1! But please tell me why you are flaming my story, so I can make this chapter enjoyable to all the people who read it but don't review**


	7. The Invasion Ends And A New Saga Begins

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Recap:

_Ochiro, having no way to fight, was able to pull off a hand sign that looked strangely familiar to Naruto for some reason. They discovered that he was not just a taijutsu fighter._

_"All right! No more playing around! Five-pronged Seal!" Ochiro exclaimed, purple chakra flowing from his hand._

_"**You're finished! I've got you all now!"**_

_End Recap:_

Ochiro was closing in on Naruto. The chakra from his palms flowing, his veins thrusting. Sasuke jumped in to try and stop the attack, but he simply jumped over the Uchiha. Shika tried to catch him with his Shadow Possession Jutsu but failed as he just dashes over to Naruto with ferocious intent. "There's no stopping me now! I won't let you escape!" Ochiro yelled.

Ochiro tried to strike Naruto once but missed. Naruto performed a shadow clone jutsu to try and attack the ninja, but Ochiro smoothly jumped out of the way. However, he had made a fatal mistake by not thinking about the dog-ninja, Kiba.

"Haha! You forgot all about me, right Ochiro!" Mocked Kiba as he caught Ochiro in the most vicious Fang Over Fang he could muster up. he created three clones to add extra effect. With all five Kibas rushing at Ochiro, he had no time to plan any counter attack or dodge.

"Ugggggghhhoohhuhuu!" Ochiro screamed in terror after being decimated by Kiba's terrifying attack. He landed on the ground, his clothes were shredded terribly. His shirt was ripped off, and his pants were severely torn. His face was flooded with blood. He looked pale and lifeless.

The others didn't look too good either. Not as bad as Ochiro, but they were breathing heavily and were all feeling a little lightheaded.

"Heeheehh! I can't believe I beat him! Me! Kiba Inuzuka! I'm making my mark on the world already! The man who single-handedly stopped the Rock invasion on Konoha!" Kiba bragged.

Blood started dripping down Kiba's face. Everybody was surprised by the sudden exposure of blood. They thought it was just an after effect of him wiggling around too much. However, Ochiro appeared right in front of Kiba with a kunai.

Suddenly Kiba's whole face was clouded in blood and he fell in shocked defeat. Ochiro turned around, and with a deadly grin, charged for Shikamaru.

"You're next, you bitch! I didn't want it to come to all of this! I just wanted the money for the village, but now I'm taking your lives!" Ochiro charged at Shikamaru with a kunai aimed at his heart. If Shikamaru could capture him, it would be for about a minute. Anko's training proved to be extremely helpful.

Shikamaru evaded Ochiro's attempt and threw an explosive tag at his head. Ochiro ducked quickly, only to be slammed to the ground by a deadly kick from above by Naruto.

Ochiro slammed to the ground with such force that the ground around them began to shake. "Heheh! That will teach you to never leave Naruto Uzumaki alone! I'm no weakling, you understand!" Naruto stuck his fist out and grinned.

"Naruto! Where did that come from, you dobe! I couldn't even see that!" Sasuke complemented Naruto. Naruto flashed a huge grin at the Uchiha prodigy.

"Well, you know Naruto Uzumaki always has something up his sleeve!" His grin got even wider.

Sasuke went to go retrieve Kiba, who had severe scars all over his face. "Get up, Hero, it's all over, I think." Sasuke awakened Kiba, who had a small grin on his face.

"So, I beat him huh, Uchiha?" He questioned, struggling to get up after so much chakra use.

"It was tearing up Sasuke inside to reveal the truth to Kiba. The truth that it was Naruto who defeated the distressed Rock ninja. As he was gathering every ounce of strength he had to tell the truth, he noticed some fidgeting from Ochiro that unnerved him.

The ninja who wouldn't give up pulled off the bandages on his arm. There was a sticker. As soon as Ochiro ripped the sticker off, chakra started massively flowing around the area. It was a chakra seal that he had ripped off. This chakra had such evil intent behind it that it was stained black. The chakra was so massive that it forced everyone on the battlefield away and was able to destroy some buildings. The chakra started to intensify, and gave the group of ninjas minor cuts and bruises. The radius was so far spread it even alerted the Anbu. The Jonin were heavily cautious.

Ochiro sealed the chakra into his body. All of the injuries that were he endured were gone. His clothes were back to normal, and his skin was without a bruise.

"You thought I was finished, huh,? Well, here's my full power! I am the most talented ninja ever! Bow down before my incredible ninjutsu! Earth Release: Earth Spear!" Ochiro yelled at the four remaining ninjas.

The Rock ninja's body started to harden to a steel-like quality Ochiro's skin became much darker, to a very black color. "Look here. My defensive power is increased to the fullest. No techniques except Lightning Release will be able to get through to me! I'm sure none of you guys know the first thing about Lightning release techniques! Also, my physical attacks have been increased by tenfold! I'm unstoppable now! I will take my place as the strongest ninja of all time!" Ochiro yelled at the group like a madman.

The group now knew that Ochiro was unstoppable. None of their attacks could defeat him; It was pointless to go any farther. Since Ochiro was more of a taijutsu fighter anyways, his attacks would damage them severely. The group thought it was disadvantageous to keep on fighting and should let the Third deal with just one genin. Sasuke, however, thought otherwise...

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**Sasuke's P.O.V.**

_There's no way that only Lightning Techniques can break through that shield. He's definitely bluffing. I'll just whip out a Fireball Technique!_

_I jumped up into the air and performed a Great Fireball Technique aimed directly at Ochiro. He stood there calm and took the attack head-on. He didn't flinch or anything._

_After about seven minutes of constant Fire Style techniques, This punk-ass son of a bitch still won't even budge. Seems he wasn't even lying about what he said._

_My chakra's depleting so fast and he's not even showing any signs of fatigue. How are we supposed to defeat him if I'm the only one with a nature type and mine are useless against him!_

_"Naruto, Shika, Kiba! We can't beat him in this form! He's way too strong! We should run away!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to the three ninjas I was forced to work with._

_Why couldn't I have somebody like Shino or Ino to back me up in a situation like this. Shino could probably use his bugs to drain all the chakra that Ochiro uses to sustain this attack, making him vulnerable._

_"What? Run away! We're Konoha ninjas, we never run from a fight, and no way will we let some low-life scum like him defeat us! That's our way of the ninja! Now, Teme, run if you want, but I'm staying to fight!" The Dobe snapped._

_Naruto's such an idiot! He has no idea what he's getting himself into! He's too stubborn! However, you have to respect a sense of determination that strong. Guess the idiot **does** have what it takes to become a ninja_

_What am I thinking? Naruto's about as weak as they come, he'll never make it!_

_Due to all the time I spent thinking, I didn't even see Ochiro appear right in front of me. He delivered a kick right to my stomach that sent me crashing to a house with so much impact I should be knocked out._

_I laid there, feeling so much pain, it was killing me to even move._

_"Sasuke! Are you okay!" They all yelled in agony. They rushed to my side and helped me stand up, to my objections._

_I rose to my feet in the end. Ochiro bolted at me. There was nothing else I could do. Just as I was about to accept Ochiro's attack, I was saved by none other than..._

_End P.O.V._

* * *

The Famous Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake had arrived to save Sasuke and the others! They had noticed that there was an electrical current flowing through Ochiro's heart. He had performed a Lightning Release technique on Ochiro.

"Sorry I'm late. Are any of you guys dead?" He questioned calmly. The group sweat dropped at the question.

"n-n-n-no, Kakashi-Sensei. He just knocked them out. The question is, however, is he dead?" Kiba pointed towards Ochiro. He was just standing there with his mouth gaping wide open. The jutsu wore off and his skin was back to a normal color.

"Ummm, no, he's not. All I did was break the jutsu and he suffered injuries as a result, but he'll be okay. There's no reason for me to kill him. His intentions are understandable." Kakashi explained to the four children. "Now let's get the others back up."

Kakashi went around, grabbed everyone's wrist, and transferred his chakra into it. He did take some time to find Choji, however. The clueless genin awoke to see that Ochiro was defeated, this time for real.

'Whatever he did to wake them up was...weird' The four genin who were active for the whole match thought.

"Kakashi-Sensei? What are you doing here?" Choji and Sakura asked the gray-haired ninja. He looked aloof and he pulled out the orange book he always reads.

"I saw that you guys needed help so I came to take care of him. Kiba, I see you've failed to protect your teammates like I told you." He answered without taking his eyes off the book. Everybody stared at him and sweat dropped.

Kiba scoffed. "He was tough enough, okay. I was protecting them by trying to defeat him. I can't babysit and risk all of our lives." Kiba responded to Kakashi's dismay.

'_He has the best intentions at heart, but...'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Well, I'll tell you what, we sure are glad you did come, or else there would've been a totally different outcome." Shikamaru muttered.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke, Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru, and noticed one thing. More people on Team Ten made it trough the full battle than the other teams. He smirked under his mask. They also had less injuries. 'I wonder just what are the full capabilities of those children.' He thought.

Naruto, however, wasn't as joyful as the rest of them. '_What was that jutsu that he was trying to do on me? Why was it so familiar?' _He thought to himself, but brushed the fact off and decided to just enjoy their victory instead.

"Well, what do we do now?" Shikamaru questioned Kakashi.

"I don't know. Wasn't much of an invasion. Just a few buildings destroyed, but we'll get over it with no trouble at all. So I guess we all might as well report to the Third Hokage's office to report the end of the invasion." The genin agreed with Kakashi, and they all prepared to report to the Hokage.

Ochiro coughed up some blood in the process, but managed to scream out to the ninjas. "Wait! Don't go yet!"

The ninjas were stunned. Did he really want to keep fighting them? He should know that it's over for the Rock Village. "I just wanted to apologize for the nuisance we've caused. My intentions weren't for all of this to happen, so I guess I'll just have to get over my father and I hope we'll be able to forget this event and become friends." He informed them.

The ninjas didn't know what to do. They could all understand what he was coming from, and why it would lead him to this. The surprising thing was the fact that he was able to acknowledge defeat and apologize for his actions.

The Uchiha walked over to Ochiro, grabbed his hand and brought him to his feet. "Sure. We could be friends. You were a very worthy opponent." The two ninjas smirked. They both knew this would be the beginning of a wonderful friendship, or rivalry, in Sasuke's case. He slung him over his shoulder and the Konoha ninjas returned to the Third's office.

* * *

**_At The Third Hokage's Office_**

The Konoha Genin, Ochiro, and Kakashi, all walked into the Hokage's office to find everyone already there.

The Third Hokage looked very displeased when they arrived. "And who is this, Sasuke? The enemy, perhaps?" He questioned the Uchiha.

Sasuke gave him a strong death glare. "He's not the enemy, Hiruzen." Sasuke said with such disrespect that Kurenai had to come and slap him. Nobody calls a Kage by his first name, much less without a formal suffix.

"Sasuke, he is the enemy. He almost tried to kill me. Is that not an enemy to you?" He responded calmly. In the inside, he was fuming with rage._ 'how dare this kid call me by my first name!'_

"Actually, that's not an enemy to me. You turned us against him just for your own selfish reasons. You didn't want to own up to your mistakes. He didn't want to cause any harm. It was you guys who invaded him and killed his father, and he still just wanted money for his village. Now to me, it sounds like we're the enemy. You don't even seem worthy enough for me to respect you, Hiruzen. You deserve to die." Sasuke said with no remorse towards his actions.

Sasuke's words were heartfelt by everybody in the room. It pierced the Third right in the heart. Everybody was shocked by Sasuke's actions. Even Ochiro was stunned. The Rookie Nine, however, could agree with Sasuke on this one.

"That is true, _Hiruzen._" Shikamaru mocked.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara! How dare you two show such disrespect to such an honorable ninja like the Third Hokage. You two should be highly ashamed of yourselves. He was doing what he thought was be-" Kurenai yelled at the two genin until she was interrupted by the Hokage.

"It is okay, Kurenai. Not everyone is going to like me. They don't understand what I had to do, but they will someday. That is besides the fact. If the Rock Village can accept defeat, I will proudly give money to help the village survive." The Third said, much to Ochiro's excitement.

"Sasuke and Shikamaru, although you're very bad-mannered, I think you guys can grow up to become extremely talented ninjas, and I've talked it over with your senseis. That is why the Rookie Nine will be registered for the Chunin Exams!" The Third bellowed.

All the genin were shocked. The chunin exams! They've only been genin for about a month.

"The Chunin Exams! Do you guys really think we're ready?" Ino shouted.

All of the jonin senseis in the room stared at her and smiled. "Of course we do! You kids have shown remarkable improvement and I'm proud of each and every one of you for defending your village in times like this." Anko declared. She was especially proud of her Team Ten. She had turned the 'loser' ninjas into moderate ones in less than a month. "But work on your attitude!" She grinned.

"Well, don't worry, guys, we won't let you down! By the end of the chunin exams, all of Team Ten will become chunin! Believe it!" Naruto howled with fierce determination.

"Yeah, I have to say this will be exciting." Shino muttered.

"True That! Team Seven will dominate the chunin exams!" Ino yelped.

"Hm. This will be great competition." Sasuke said.

"Yahoo! we'll destroy the competition, right, Akamaru!" Kiba shrieked. Akamaru barked.

"*munch* munch*" Choji chomped satisfactorily.

"Oh yeah? Don't count me out, Kiba!" Sakura yelled.

"Y-y-yes, I am l-l-looking forward t-t-to this event." Hinata stated.

"Ugh, what a drag, but I guess I'll compete too." Shikamaru yawned.

"That's the spirit, guys. I hope you all do well." Kakashi declared.

'Hm, we'll just see what these kids can do.' The Third thought to himself.

**And with the end of one chapter of their lives, a new one appears that will impact the rest of these children's lives forever. It either makes or breaks people's dreams. Enter, The Chunin Exams!**

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**Well, there's the end of the Seventh Chapter of 'The Children of Konoha' To the people who enjoy this story sorry it took so long for me to review. I just couldn't decide whether or not to do the Zabuza and Haku arc. I might if enough people review and tell me to, but for now I won't. I know it marks the first time that Naruto transforms into a stage of the Nine-tailed fox, I'm skipping it and everyone already knows and accepts Naruto, unlike the beginning of the series. The villagers actually listens to the Fourth Hokage's wishes. They also know about Sasuke's past, but don't know too much about Itachi himself. About Sasuke's mini scuffle with the Third, it was because Sasuke understood where Ochiro was coming from because of Itachi and took it seriously when the Third called him an enemy. Sasuke doesn't really hate the Third. From now on the series will cover the important events of the manga and anime portrayals of Naruto and my fillers that will help the story move along. This is far ahead, but I need help on what to do in my story after Sasuke leaves. Should I turn the story's perspective into how the Konoha 11 are doing without Naruto and Sasuke, Naruto's training, or Sasuke's time with Orochimaru. I really don't know, so tell me in your reviews. Well that was a mouthful, So I'll leave it at that. Remember, Read and Review!.**


	8. Let's Get Ready! It's The Chunin Exams!

_Recap:_

_"Sasuke and Shikamaru, you guys can grow up to become great ninjas. That's why the Rookie nine will be competing in the chunin exams!_

_"Well, don't worry guys, because at the end of it, Team Ten will be all chunin, believe it!" Naruto yelled with fierce determination._

_End Recap_

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After days and days of endless D-rank and C-rank missions to improve their status when entering the Chunin Exams, The day has finally come for the Rookie Nine to show the world what they've got. Naruto has been waiting days and days for this one event and it's finally here!

Naruto woke up at 7:00 A.M. He still had five hours left until he had to arrive at the field with his team.

Naruto knew that he would make these exams memorable. He promised himself that he wouldn't go down without a fight.

He got in the shower, then brushed his teeth, then got dressed, and then he fed himself. All by himself.

It was the same formula everyday. Personally, Naruto was saddened by it. He wished that he could have known his parents like everybody else, but instead he lived by himself not even knowing who his parents were. Not even knowing where he came from. His life was a living hell. Although he had many friends, on the inside, it killed him that the closest thing to a parent to him was Iruka-Sensei.

That's why he was so desperate to become a chunin. He had to make a living for himself. He had to make himself known to the world. He had to make sure the whole world knew the name of Naruto Uzumaki!

Naruto ran from street to street to find Shikamaru's house which was a pretty far distance. It took him about an hour and a half to get there. Now since it took him an hour to get ready, he just had two and a half hours left.

He knocked on Shikamaru's door anxiously; He was just so excited. His head hung down while he continuously muttered to himself.

"The Chunin Exams! I'm shaking with determination! I'll show up a nobody, but leave a legend! I swear, everyone will remember Team 10! We'll be greater than anybody! Any Hokage, any S-rank ninja, even Anko-sensei!"

What Naruto didn't realize was that the lazy genius Shikamaru was already at the door hearing everything he had just said.

"Why are you so nervous, Naruto? No one's expecting us to do well except Anko and she barely has any support in us." Shikamaru told his nervous teammate.

Naruto answered with confidence. "Today marks a new day in our lives. I'm not the same old Naruto. Time to get serious Shika, No exceptions."

Shikamaru slung his head down like Naruto. He kicked the ground nervously. They both stood there silently, creating an Awkward Silence. They then turned their attention to each other.

They then began to look each other down menacingly. Observing their fears and strengths, reading each other up and down, until finally, the two Genin let out a smirk.

"Hahaha." They both chuckled nervously.

"What are we so scared for? We'll kick butt; Enough talk, let's head over to Hinata's house!" Naruto left, signaling for Shikamaru to follow along.

The whole trip was filled with a terrifying Awkward Silence. That's because they both knew what each other were thinking. They were wondering if they were really chunin material.

'Sure, Even if I did manage to defeat everyone and became a chunin, what would happen? I'd be a step higher than everyone. I'll be the leader. More dangerous missions. It all sounds like a real drag. But I won't let Naruto and Hinata down. Just making it to the exams is already too far for us' Shikamaru wondered.

'Hmph! I can't wait anymore! The Chunin Exams! Shika looks a little tense, but I'm sure he's excited too. This is also a chance for me to show Team Seven, more specifically Sasuke, just what I've got. But I'm tired of thinking, I'll just strike up a convo with Shikamaru.'

"So, Shika, what's on your mind? How do you think the exams will turn out?" Naruto questioned the Nara.

Shikamaru didn't want to reveal his true thoughts on the exams. He had done all the research, and the chance of them making it past the written exams were slim. So Shika put on a lazy smile and nodded. "Good."

Naruto questioned Shikamaru's true opinion but he shoved the matter off as they were now at the Hyuga residence. They were both shocked by what they saw. The garden wasn't too much, but the house was amazing!

"How couldn't we have seen this in Konoha?" Shika wondered. The mansion was as wide as about 15 schools, and as high as one skyscraper. Naruto just stared in awe. This house makes his little house seem like a shrimp.

"I never knew that someone like Hinata lived like this? How could their family afford this?" He questioned.

"Well, Naruto, they are the Hyuga clan. It's no surprise to me. They're the richest clan in all of Konoha, maybe even the world." Shikamaru answered.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed.

They went to the main door and rang the doorbell. They had to wait a while since the house is so big. Hinata finally rushed out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's just go." Hinata hurried out the house. They've never seen her so excited...or scared... in their lives. It was inspiring...or creepy... to them at least.

"Uhh, yeah we'll be right behind you Hinata-Chan." Naruto and Shika followed. Hinata didn't even comment on their new outfits. They began to wonder just what goes on in that Hyuga Manor.

The three ninja quickly ran to the field to meet up with Anko. On the way, Shika and Naruto decided to interrogate Hinata.

"Hey, Hina-chan, is anything wrong? You've been acting a little funny today." Naruto bluntly questioned.

Hinata hid her face from the two ninjas who were her teammates. She didn't want them to know the truth. The fact that she had actually been beaten by her little sister, Hanabi Hyuga. She was five years her junior. All her dad did was laugh and congratulate her, leaving Hinata in shame. There was absolutely no way they can ever figure out that story. Even they would look down on her then. She just hoped she wouldn't be a burden to Naruto and Shikamaru.

Hinata didn't want to tell them the real story. She was more than just a shy girl who was scared to reveal her emotions or viewpoints. Usually, these two were the only ones she could talk to but she can't do that even now. She's disappointed her father in two ways. First when it was revealed that she couldn't even beat a member of the branch family. He's the strongest of all the Hyuga clan now so that doesn't matter.

Then she couldn't even beat her **_little_** sister in a sparring match. Either she's weak or everyone else is just too strong for her too keep up. Maybe it's that she's just developing her skills slower than everyone. About five years slower, that is.

"I would rather not say." Hinata muttered. She never stuttered around these two. She just felt so safe when she is in their comfort. She kind of felt guilty.

Naruto stopped as soon as he heard that. That caused Shikamaru to abruptly stop. Hinata, as if according to cue, stopped too.

"Hinata Hyuga, are we a team? You know, are the three of us, like, really Team 10?" Naruto said in a bitter voice that made Hinata shiver with fear.

"Naruto, what do you mean? Of course we are Team 10. Ever since we graduated." She replied back.

Shikamaru just watched, not understanding anything, his hair peacefully flowing in the wind. 'These two are so weird. What's to come of this?' He still smiles, knowing he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Oh really? Well a 'team' should work together, be able to communicate, discuss problems and work through it together. If anything, that should be something that we could have over Team 7. So if you can't discuss a problem that you're having with us than we're obviously not a team. So please, just tell us, because we'll help you." Naruto pleaded, as he grabs her hand in desperation.

Hinata blushed. She was more focused on her hand contact with Naruto than the situation at hand. She was getting ready to faint. 'Naruto's so damn sexy when he's serious!' She dug deep and released enough courage to stop blushing.

Shikamaru smiled. He looked at Naruto and Hinata and thought 'This is how it ought a be.'

Hinata took a deep gulp, stared right into Naruto's emotion-filled eyes, took another deep breath and finally came to the conclusion that they deserve to know nothing but the truth.

"Thank you Naruto. The truth is, that... I lost to my little sister Hanabi in a sparring match. I'm so embarrassed." Hinata struggled to keep back tears that begged to be free.

Naruto stared in either... shock, humor, or anxiety. "Whoa, just how strong is your sister? I'd love to spar with her one day!" Naruto yelled in excitement.

Shikamaru seemed to have the same expression, as his mouth was gaping wide open. " Hey, Your sister seems kind of... troublesome." He muttered.

Hinata stared at her two teammates, also in shock. Why were they saying this? Hanabi's not strong. She's just weak. "What are you guys talking about? I was defeated in a sparring match by my little sister!" Hinata yelled in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know. Your sister must be one strong girl. Especially if she could beat you. She should be the one becoming a Chunin if she's that strong." Naruto offered the words of encouragement.

Shika nodded his head in agreement.

Hinata was so happy. She wasn't weak. She looked at her teammates and realized how much she loved them. She couldn't help but break down and start crying. Her tears were finally free. They were tears of joy, however. Naruto and Shikamaru approached her and gave her a big hug. For the rest of the trip they were all thinking of how much they loved each other.

* * *

After a rather emotional trip, Team 10 was at the field where they found Anko, the rest of the Rookie Nine, a team that was probably Tenten's, as she was with them, another that was obviously Raiku's, and a bunch of random genin that they did not know.

Naruto wasn't scared of any team but Raiku's. They were all dressed similar. one had a black jacket and brown pants, while the other had a pink jacket and purple pants. The only thing they shared in common with the Rookies were the style of their pants and their headbands, although theirs were silver.

According to Naruto, Tenten's team looked like a bunch of douche bags. One had very long flowing hair but had to be a boy. He looked a lot like Hinata, however. Naruto eerily stared at the both of them.

The other one sported a green spandex and a bowl cut. He looked a lot like their sensei. Naruto came to the conclusion that they were both related somehow.

Naruto thought that he had nothing to worry about the Rookie Nine or Tenten's team.

"Hey guys, everybody here looks like they suck! We totally got this one in the bag!" Naruto excitedly told Shikamaru and Hinata.

Shikamaru smirked. "Naruto, don't you think that maybe we look like we suck too? Never judge a book by its cover. See that guy over there next to Tenten? Number One Rookie of last year. He had one of the highest grades in the history of the Academy. His name is...Neji **Hyuga**. You know him Hinata?" Shikamaru gave a simple background of this Neji guy.

Naruto regretted what he said. One of the highest grades in the history of the Academy? That's amazing!

Hinata cringed when she heard his name. She stared at him. He returned a death glare that literally gave her a vision of her death by his hands. She gulped.

"Yes, I do know him. He is... my cousin. Sadly, we don't have a good relationship with each other." Hinata frowned.

"Really? Who couldn't have a good relationship with you? You're like totally awesome!" Naruto yelled, giving Hinata his traditional smile.

"Naruto, sadly, this is a family problem of the Hyugas. I could never explain our past to anyone, no matter how hard I was to try." Hinata gave the group a weak smile.

Naruto wanted to question Hinata so badly, but he was stopped by an announcement from Kakashi.

"Everyone, listen up please! Today is the beginning of one of the most important tests that you will ever take. The Chunin Exams test. You are all here today not as competitors, but as fellow Konoha ninjas. Now I'm not saying that you are necessarily a team, rather that you should not let personal rivalries overcome you as you are representing Konoha. To be honest, I am proud of your development as ninjas and I'll be excited to see how you do during these exams." Kakashi calmly told all the genin present.

Anko stepped in to announce her feelings on the exams.

"Listen up, you muskrats! You may think that you're all working together but truly, you're all going to find out that you're just using one another to obtain your goals of becoming a chunin. Believe me, there will be a stage where you find yourselves turning your backs on each other. This will be the most terrible test you will ever have to take! Don't get me wrong, the thrill is very exciting! You'll get to meet some of the most powerful rookie ninjas the rest of the **WORLD** has to offer! That will truly test how strong each and every one of you are! Team 10, one last thing. You better kick ass... or else!" Anko gruelingly told all the genin.

Team 10 felt inspired. Finally, someone who believes in them!

Hinata's cousin, Neji, stepped up and raised his hand. Kurenai granted him permission to speak.

"Can you explain the outline of the exam? You know is it a test to see if we're mentally ready to be chunin? Or is it a survival outing that will test our teamwork and leadership abilities if we were to become chunin? Or maybe it would be a 1-on-1 match to see how we'll do in missions that depend on us defeating numerous enemies as chunin?" Neji asked.

Kurenai smiled. "Actually, It's every single one, just in that order. The Chunin exams will consist of a written test, a Survival challenge known as the Forest Of Death, and lastly, a 1-on-1 match to determine who will become a chunin. Just making it to the final test qualifies you to become a chunin. Does that answer all of your questions?" Kurenai answered the mysterious young prodigy known as Neji.

Neji smirked and looked at the Uchiha prodigy, Sasuke, and stepped up to him. "You, what's your name?" He asked the stoic genin.

"It's rude to ask one's name without introducing your own first." Sasuke slyly remarked.

Neji sweat-dropped, but proceeded anyways. "True. My name is Neji. Neji Hyuga. What's yours?" Neji greeted and stretched out his hand for Sasuke to shake it.

Sasuke accepted the gesture and properly introduced himself. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I'm anxious to see how a member of the Hyuga clan does in battle. I hope you're not like that other Hyuga." Sasuke whispered that last part.

Neji stared at the Hyuga dropout with disgust. He seems to enjoy death glares. Hinata stared at him for a second and immediately stared away in fear. Sasuke, not understanding what the problem was, just left and tried to strike a conversation with the Rookies.

"All right, you guys! We're now taking you to the official testing center of the Chunin Exams!" Kurenai yelled in excitement as all the eager genin cheered.

"Everybody! Well, the Rookie Nine! Put your hand in! This will be our pledge to not let anything personal overcome us! We're all working as a team! We'll prove to everyone that we're the best! On 3 say 'Rookie Nine!' 1,2,3!" Ino declared

"Rookie Nine!" Everyone cheered, even Shino and Sasuke, as they followed Kurenai to the event that will undoubtedly change each and every one of their lives.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter! I just wanted to kind of introduce Neji's team here. With the whole Gaara thing, don't worry about him. He'll show up a little before the written test. Everybody will be fully exposed by the middle of the Forest Of Death. This chapter briefly introduced Neji but not his motives and why he seems to hate Hinata. The next chapter will introduce Gaara, Kabuto, and the Sound Ninja. Nobody will get too much credit for anything until the preliminaries. Oh, yeah! The preliminaries will be almost fully changed! Only about one or two fights will stay the same! But anyways, It's time to end the chapter. Remember, read and review!"


	9. Written Exams and New Faces!

**Hey Guys! Shadows And Flowers is back after a little break. I know I haven't updated in like half a year but I'm back and ready to continue my story! We left off at the Chunin exams so that's where we'll pick up. Remember to R&R! I love your reviews so please REVIEW! Now let's get back to the story of the Children Of Konoha!**

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_**Recap: **_

_**"All right, you guys! We're now taking you to the official testing center of the Chunin Exams!" Kurenai yelled in excitement as all the eager genin cheered**_

_**"Everybody! Well, the Rookie Nine! Put your hand in! This will be our pledge to not let anything personal overcome us! We're all working as a team! We'll prove to everyone that we're the best! On 3 say 'Rookie Nine!' 1,2,3!" Ino declared**_

_**"Rookie Nine!" Everyone cheered, even Shino and Sasuke, as they followed Kurenai to the event that will undoubtedly change each and every one of their lives.**_

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"Alright you worthless, untalented, muskrats! This is what you've been waiting for! The Chunin Exams! You're going to meet a lot of new people, and some of the other villages are going to have extremely strong ninjas! Now these are ninjas that will make you guys look like some toddlers! So you better watch out! But hey, I'm proud of each and everyone of you as far as development goes. I still kind of disagree with the decision to enter you guys for the Chunin Exam, but hey, I bet you'll prove me wrong just like always! In conclusion, all I have to say is kick ass and make us proud! Kakashi, your turn!" Anko ended her prattle with a grin at her team and walked back into the crowd and signaled Kakashi to give his small speech.

"Okay, I'll give it to you straight forward. The Chunin Exams are very dangerous and a terrifying experience, both mentally and physically. It pits you up against each and everyone of your comrades, in some states, even your own teammates. That's why if you want to survive you'll have to have terrific teamwork. Anyways, the Exams do have a lot of pros also. Honorable visitors from all around the world will come just to see you guys. It's a pretty exciting experience. It's also a great way to get your name publicized. Now I'll stop babbling and wrap it up. The Chunin Exams is a load of fun if you're prepared, so just do your best! Kurenai, you're up." Kakashi grinned at all the genin and returned to the crowd, while Kurenai stepped forward.

"Hey guys, don't be pressured too much by the Exams. They're not as bad as those two bullies make them seem. Sure there will be some new stronger opponents, but that's the whole fun of it. The experience to compete against thousands of other genin is a stimulating adventure. You'll make new friends too, hopefully. Then again, it will pit you against your comrades, but that's just a test to see if you're willing to do anything for the sake of a mission. It's nothing big, trust me. I have faith in all your skills and abilities, so I'm confident that this test won't be too much of a hassle for you guys. I'll hurry up and end my speech because I can see the look of excitement on all of your faces! So just try hard and you'll be successful!" Kurenai ended her mouthful of a speech and returned to the crowd.

The Jonin had all given their speeches to the genin teams and were now escorting the genin to the whereabouts of the Chunin Exams area. The genin teams were having small discussions between themselves.

Sasuke was talking to Neji about who they thought was the strongest genin and who they thought actually stood a chance against either of the two prodigies.

Shino was talking to Kiba about their childhood moments leading up to this instant. Ino was talking to Tenten about who was cuter between Sasuke and Neji. Choji was talking to Lee about their opinions on what team has the greatest chance to prevail in this analysis of skill.

Sakura was with Team 10. There was something about them that just put her at ease. Whether it was the fact that they were so fun or that they were interesting to talk to, she didn't know.

When she needed help, they were the perfect people to talk to, so she knew she could ask them about anything. There was a question that she had to get out of her system so badly, but she couldn't talk about it with any of her teammates. So naturally, she decided to ask her favorite fellow ninja. It was none other than the lazy Shikamaru Nara.

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"Hey Shikamaru, I've got a question to ask you that's been pounding at me all this time, but I just need the right person to ask. You think you can help me?" Sakura asked the pineapple haired shinobi.

Shikamaru could tell it was a relatively important question, as Sakura was looking pretty down today. So he abandoned his lazy demeanor for once and asked her what was wrong.

"Yeah Sakura, of course I can help you. You know you can talk to me about anything. Now just explain to me what's on your mind?" Shikamaru sincerely asked the green eyed kunoichi.

"Well Shikamaru, I just want to get your opinion on a serious matter. Honestly, do you think that I would stand a chance in the Chunin Exams?" Sakura asked with grief and sorrow. She was glad that she could discuss her anxiety with someone and patiently awaited the Nara's response.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was shocked by his friend's question. He knew the answer, but he just didn't know why she was wondering. He focused on the pink-haired kunoichi with the lazy attitude that she loved so much about him for some reason. She couldn't help but smile at his carefree demeanor. He always looked so calm and relaxed, and that just eased her spirits.

The lazy-haired ninja smirked at Sakura and folded his arms behind his head, a response to her question in mind.

"Sakura, what kind of troublesome question is that? Of course you have a chance in the exams! You're one of the strongest kunoichi I know, and definitely the smartest. Actually, to tell you the truth, I think that you have a much better chance of becoming a chunin then I do." Shikamaru answered with assurance.

Sakura bowed her head in dismay. "But what about my team? I heard the first and second exams depend on how well you can contribute to your team. Kiba's an excellent tracker with Akamaru, Choji has incredible strength, but really what do I have to offer besides a few fancy tricks that I learned from the Academy? All I have is some basic genjutsu, and that won't be too useful here." Sakura firmly stated.

Shikamaru grinned once again. He knew a skill that Sakura possessed that would be far more important to Kiba and Choji than their own strengths. "Sakura, let me explain to you the real structure of this year's genin teams. If you'll look at all of the teams, each member possesses one certain skill that they're far better at than any of their fellow teammates. For example, with Team 7, They're the brains. But Sasuke has the best battle prowess. Shino is actually the best when it comes to tracking because of his bugs, and Ino is the smartest out of them all, surprisingly. Now with our group, we all can track and capture . However, Naruto has the best fighting skill, Hinata's the tracker because of her Byakugan, and I'm the brain. And with your group, you guys would actually go best with being the combat specialists. And, Choji's the brawn, Kiba's the tracker, and you Sakura, are the genius. Everyone has their own specific talent, you see?" Shikamaru explained his opinion of the team structures.

"Wow, Shikamaru, I never thought of it like that. But it actually makes sense now that I think about it. Thanks!" Sakura smiled, regaining her cheerful aura after Shikamaru's speech. Shikamaru simply nodded in response.

Naruto stared at Sakura with pity. He felt bad for her as he could only imagine what Sakura had to go through on her team. She had a completely insensitive tough guy who would never take the time to try to relate to her, and then she had a kind, decent kid who also couldn't relate to her because he wasn't as cool. Naruto tried to join in on comforting her as he also believed she had a good chance of excelling in the Chunin Exams. All he could do was tell her himself.

"Hey Sakura, don't worry about anything. No matter what happens, we'll have your back. Believe it! However, I have to say that I'm anxious to kick Kiba's butt." Naruto stuck his thumb out at Sakura and flashed her his signature smile. All Sakura could do was smile widely and give the hyperactive ninja a hug.

"Thanks Naruto! I knew I could depend on you to cheer me up when I'm feeling down, and don't worry, Kiba's all yours! " Sakura said to the ecstatic blonde-haired ninja that she's come to enjoy so much.

Hinata also had the same question as Sakura, but she was sure that her teammates would support her through the exams so she could not fail. She simply stared at the three and grinned to herself. Those three are the light of relief that she's always been looking for. She shot a glance at the other Hyuga and frowned in fear, however. She instantly brightened her attitude and supported Naruto and Shikamaru in consoling Team 8's sole kunoichi.

"Y-yeah, Sakura, I agree with Naruto and Shikamaru. Don't put yourself down. You definitely stand a chance in the exams. You're strong, smart, and the ideal version of a great kunoichi. To tell you the truth, you always were the one who inspired me to get stronger and stronger back in the academy." Hinata announced. Actually, Naruto was the one who inspired Hinata to get stronger, but Sakura was Hinata's ideal version of a kunoichi.

Sakura stared at Hinata, shocked. She never knew that she had such an effect on the young Hyuga girl. It made her glad to know that she inspired someone to push themselves to succeed.

Sakura walked up to the timid Hyuga girl and gave her a great hug. During the hug, she whispered into Hinata's ears her own words of gratitude.

"Wow Hinata, I never knew you thought of me that way. Thanks, I really appreciate that." Sakura broke away from the hug with a huge smile on her face and a smiling Hinata in front of her.

Next, she walked up to the lazy Nara and caught him in a huge bear hug. She knew how much Shikamaru hated hugs too, which was why she gave him the biggest bear hug she could muster up. She enjoyed every second of it too.

Shikamaru however, did not. He could feel his lungs struggling to supply him with air. He had a feeling that Sakura was rapidly crushing each and every one of his internal organs. Oh, how he hated hugs. However, he loved the pink-haired kunoichi's hugs and he couldn't help but enjoy every second of it.

"Thanks, Shikamaru, I didn't know what I was thinking! You three always know how to make me feel better! I love you guys for that!" Sakura tip-toed and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek. The Nara slightly blushed. Fortunately for him, none of the three were paying enough attention to his face to notice, but someone else certainly was.

* * *

"HAHHHAAAAAAHAHA! So apparently the lazy-ass has some experience with the ladies, I see! I also see his tomato cheeks burning up! I don't understand how such a pretty girl like the Haruno could ever fall for a boy as lazy as the Nara!" Anko bellowed, to the discontent of Kakashi who was standing near her.

"Hmmm? She's not falling for him. It was just a simple kiss on the cheek, nothing more." Kakashi retorted, to the annoyance of Anko.

"What, you ticked off because my students can pick up your esteemed ones?" Anko put her hand on Kakashi's face and pulled away, with a sly grin on her face. Kakashi hated when she mocked him.

The silver-haired ninja was actually impressed with the Nara, however. He remembered meeting the boy's father back as a kid. He also seemed to have a talent for charming the ladies himself. He was just as lazy too. Kakashi chuckled as he remembers encountering these kids' fathers back when he was a boy and how their personalities really rubbed off on their children.

"Haha, very funny, I'm dying with laughter. Anyways, back to serious matters, what team, out of these four, do you think has the greatest chance of succeeding in these exams?" Kakashi replied, with a deadly amount of sarcasm at the beginning.

Anko responded with one of her death-glares and flipped her lavender hair back. Kakashi immediately recognized her tone and tensed up, waiting for her answer. Anko flicked him on his forehead before she began.

"Don't be a stooge all your life, Kakashi. About your question, I personally think that Hyuga kid's team is one to be looked out for. Well, especially that Hyuga. I get a bad vibe from him. Not anything evil, just some hatred in the way that he acts. However, he was last year's rookie of the year. So I'd have to give it to his team or Team 7, as their intellect, tracking skills, and battle prowess will definitely be able to get them to the finals. With my team, however, they all excel at certain parts. Shikamaru's the intellect, Hinata's the tracker, and Naruto's the brawn. It's the one-on-one competitions that I really fear." Anko replied

"That's a very interesting analysis. I'd also have to agree with you. What about you Kurenai?" Kakashi asked the red-eyed jonin.

Kurenai looked at Kakashi as if she hadn't noticed that he was there. "I'd have to go with my team. They're all clever, have excellent tracking skills, and incredible battle prowess. Also, Sasuke's awakened the Uchiha clan's famed Sharingan on an A-ranked escort mission." The rookie jonin bragged.

Anko and Kakashi could only stare in awe at Kurenai's revelation. Genin? Going on A-ranked missions? Just how much does the Hokage expect of these genin? Genin can go on high ranking missions but they should at least have some experience. These kids have been genin for about a month now!

"W-w-what! They've already completed an A-rank mission? I was a genin for at least a year before i got my first A-ranked mission! My team hasn't even had a B-ranked mission! I really want to see these guys in action now." Anko admitted. She feared for her team. Team 7 might be the Defining Generation Team.

The Defining Generation Team is the one team of a generation that are considered to be extremely talented ninjas. Examples are Team Tobirama (The Third Hokage's team), The Legendary Sannin, Team Jiraiya, Team Ino-Shika-Cho, and Team Minato. In other words, the team that made their generation stand out.

"You think they're the DGT?" Kakashi questioned with anguish. Everyone always expected his genin team to become the DGT, not some rookie jonin's. He sighed, knowing that it can't be denied; They had a high chance of obtaining this coveted title that he's achieved but this time he wanted to be the teacher, not the student.

"Honestly, in my opinion, it's a little too early to be worrying about that. We'll just have to wait and see." Kurenai stared up into the sky with such innocent eyes.

* * *

Sasuke and Neji were in an interesting discussion about their discontent of their fellow teammates. Apparently Sasuke has become disappointed in his teammates training tendencies, while Neji has never had any faith in his teammates to begin with.

"Well, it's not like I think they're weak, It's just that they seem to be lacking now. I keep on improving and improving, but they seem to be perfectly content at their level now, and I can't stand it to tell you the truth. I need someone who can keep up with me, keep forcing me to get stronger and stronger, because you may not know it, but I have an obsession with being the best. So if they can't help me improve, what good are they?" Sasuke revealed his true feelings of his teammates to the Hyuga prodigy.

Neji nodded and then proceeded to give his own opinion. "My teammates were never any good to begin with. Because of that, I've just adapted to training only with my sensei. Believe it or not, that weirdo with the bowl-cut and the green spandex, AKA my sensei, is incredibly strong. The best part is that he excels in taijutsu, so that makes my training more efficient. He says I have to have a better understanding with my teammates, but that's not going to happen." Neji said with grimace.

"That's a good substitute. The main problem is that my teacher excels in _genjutsu_, and it's too easy for me to defeat someone who's using genjutsu." Sasuke said 'genjutsu' with extreme annoyance in his voice.

Neji shook his head. "Sad. I guess you'll have to find another sparring partner. Maybe another jonin, because your class doesn't look too impressive." Neji calmly stated, but when he said 'impressive' he gave a death-glare to Hinata.

"Yeah, they're nothing compared to me. Neji, to tell you the truth, you're one of the people that I want to fight sometime in the exams. I've just always wanted to fight a worthy Hyuga." Sasuke responded. He stared at Neji with curiosity. He's always wanted to figure out the talent of a Hyuga.

Neji smirked and returned the competitive stare. "Back at you. I've always wanted to face a legendary Uchiha. Your reputation has always intrigued me. Hopefully we face during the exams." Neji said with respect, as you're always supposed to respect a worthy opponent.

"Hn. If we do meet up in the exams, it will be a popular match. A Hyuga versus an Uchiha. That would be interesting." Sasuke grinned. He was so excited to finally have the chance to fight someone who will be a challenge for him.

"Yes it will be, wouldn't it? Anyways, out of your class, who do you think is your biggest challenge?" The Hyuga prodigy questioned.

Sasuke winced. It severely hurt him to give the Hyuga the answer he was thinking of, but it had to be done. He pointed his trembling finger over to the abominable team 10. " Look over there. Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara. They don't look very strong, but they have a lot to offer. Both of them are stronger than my teammates, so you should just keep an eye out for them."

The Uchiha sighed. He hated to admit it, but Naruto and Shikamaru were getting stronger and stronger as time grows. Sasuke didn't understand how the two greatest dropouts in Konoha's history could manage to compete with the Rookie of the Year. Were they holding some unknown strength back? Was it their teacher's training that could have brought them to this level? Or was it their desire to surpass the Uchiha himself?

"Yeah, I got it. I'll keep an eye on them. I still don't think they'll be able to defeat me, however." Neji asserted.

The Uchiha boy couldn't doubt him either. Naruto and Shikamaru probably wouldn't stand a chance against Neji. Sasuke didn't even know if he would stand a chance against the Hyuga prodigy. However, if there's one thing he's learned about the two, it's to never underestimate them. He learned that during the battle with Ochiro.

"Yeah, probably not. Just don't underestimate them, because they're a little...surprising when they need to be." Mentioned the Uchiha prodigy.

Neji focused on Sasuke's facial expression. It seemed like every word the Uchiha uttered was killing him. Was their some type of secret he held about his opinions of his fellow genin? Neji could only wonder.

"Sasuke, why does it seem to hurt you so much when you talk about those two? Is there some type of tension that I should know about? I'm really curious about the matter, actually." Neji inquired.

Sasuke slightly hung his head down in shame. Neji was right, it did kill him to talk about the failures in a positive way, but something in his mind told him they deserved it. He quickly returned back to his superior facade in front of the Hyuga.

"Hn. No, no, it's nothing. I just don't feel too well. Those two are nothing but dropouts who have a little luck. Nothing to really worry about." Sasuke reassured, much to Neji's curiosity, but the Hyuga decided to just drop the subject.

* * *

After all the small chat, the Rookies and Team Guy all joined together as one group because they were finally nearing the area of the Chunin Exams. They were still talking about their expectations of the Chunin Exams. Naruto, however, was not paying enough attention and rammed into another presumed genin that none of them have seen before.

* * *

**Naruto's P.O.V.**

'_Whoa! I just bumped into some strange guy! Who is he? He might be participating in the Exams, like me! I oughta apologize and ask who he is. You know, make friends, like Snake-sensei said!' I got up and scraped the dirt off my clothes and offered him a hand. Boy, was his reaction totally unexpected!_

_"Who do you think you are, ya little brat! Why, I have the mind to beat you into a pulp right here and now!" The guy threatened me! After I tried to be polite and offer him a hand! Did he really think he could beat me, the great Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf? Who's name is spread across the Five Great Shinobi Countries as the man who single-handedly defended the Leaf Village against the Land of the Stone?_

_"Hey! Do you know who I am! You probably don't, which is surprising, because everyone knows me! I'll fill you in. I'm Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village! So I'll let your rude remark slide for now, but this is your last warning. Next time it will be trouble!" I threatened._

_Now that I actually think about it, This guy looks like a little punk! He was wearing a black, baggy full body suit with a black hood that looks like he has cat ears. He was also wearing make-up! What a weirdo! It's ironic that he thinks he's tough!_

_"Hmph. I've never heard of you, and I'm pretty sure you're nobody important, since you're a genin like me, right?" The creepy cat guy asked._

_"Yeah, I'm a genin! But not for long! Because I'm participating in this year's Chunin Exam! And I'm pretty sure me and my team will ace it, no problem! Anyways, are you also coming to participate in the exams?" I questioned the mysterious ninja. He grinned for a split-second, and then turned away, as if he didn't want me to see it. He just nodded his head in approval, so I bombarded him with another question._

_"Hey, what village are you from anyways? Your headband is not from here. What, are you from the Time Village?" I calmly asked him. His headband looked like one of those time keepers that you put sand in._

_Everyone sweat-dropped like I said something stupid; Cat guy frowned at me. What was so bad about what I said?_

_"No, I'm not from the 'Time' Village'. I'M FROM THE SAND VILLAGE YOU STUPID BAKA! HOW IDIOTIC ARE YOU? THE TIME VILLAGE? THAT'S THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD! Oh, and by the way, my name's Kankuro. Next time you mock me like that, I'll make sure it's your last-" He was cut off by some violent rustling in the trees. All I could see was a small flash of red._

* * *

**Regular P.O.V.**

Kankuro's intense anger at Naruto was interrupted by a violent rustling in the leaves. All of the Genin and Jonin assumed their battle positions except Kankuro.

"Hey, Kankuro, get into your battle stance. This is no time for games. There could be an enemy among us." Neji claimed.

Kankuro slightly grinned and let out a small chuckle. "Heheh, calm your horses Neji Hyuga, that's no enemy. Actually they're my companions." Kankuro grinned once again and waved to the trees as if a signal.

The unknown ninjas revealed themselves from their hiding spot. One of them was about as short as Naruto, had spindrift eyes, pale skin, spiky brick-red hair, no eyebrows, black outlines near his eyes, a tattoo on the left side of his forehead, a black full body suit with t-shirt sleeves, a white cloth from his right shoulder down to his left hip, but his most defining feature was the tan gourd hanging from his back. His forehead protector was strapped onto the gourd. One can only imagine what he stored in there. He looked pretty intimidating and showed no signs of any emotion.

The other one was a girl, had dark green eyes, blond hair tied into four pigtails in each corner of her head, purple-colored garment that extends from below her shoulders to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. She used her headband as a choker around her neck.

The red-haired one spoke up first. "Kankuro, what are you doing. Don't waste any time. You can't just go around doing whatever you want. This is your warning. Next time, you'll face 'serious consequences'." The red-haired told Kankuro. He seemed to be a little controlling, as Kankuro seemed older than him.

It seemed that the red-haired ones words really did have an effect on Kankuro. It was easy to tell that he was cowering in fear. "Y-y-yes, Gaara! My deepest apologies. I-I lost my way when I ran into these guys. I would've started to look for you, but they were holding me up." Kankuro lied.

Apparently, this Gaara was the leader of the trio. "Hmph, lies. But I'll let you off. Next time I'll kill you." Gaara bluntly stated. Everyone winced in fear when he said that. Were they teammates or was Gaara the leader and Kankuro the slave?

"Whatever. Now that we found Kankuro, can we please head over to the testing site?" The girl questioned.

Gaara gave her a cold stare as if to tell her not to boss him around. "Sure. Don't want to be late. Let's head off." As the sand ninjas prepared to head for the testing site, they were stopped by the Uchiha.

"Sorry to butt in, but I don't think we're done here. Just exactly who are you guys?" Sasuke aloofly inquired.

Gaara turned around to give Sasuke a death stare, which he gladly returned. "Hmph. My name is Gaara. This is Kankuro, and the girl is Temari. We're participating in the Chu- Gaara was cut off by the Uchiha.

"Yeah, yeah, we know that, but what I'm asking is for you guys to explain your who you are." Sasuke muttered.

Gaara gave him another death stare. "You're getting real annoying. But if you want me to answer your question so much , I might as well. We come from the Sand Village, we are the children of the Fourth Kazekage. Yes, we are the children of the Fourth Kazekage, as in we are all siblings. The girl is the oldest and I am the youngest. This is also our first year as Genin. We also know a lot about you guys, including you, Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara affirmed.

Everyone was shocked. They must have really studied their intel on Konoha before coming. These three were definitely ones to be looked out for.

"Oh, it's so flattering how popular we are, but how do you know 'a lot about us'?" Shikamaru interrogated the three sand siblings.

Gaara scowled as if he was getting angry. Kankuro stepped in front of him as if in a defensive pose. Gaara whispered something into his ear that sounded a little like '_They didn't tell us they'd be so nosy.'_

_"_Hmph. You don't need to know how we get our information. Maybe you guys are just so popular." Kankuro defended

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. Kakashi-sensei is popular. We've only been genin for a month. Sasuke is also popular since he comes from the Uchiha clan. But, you can't know the rest of us. I won't question you any farther. It just sounded a little fishy to me."

"It's best for you not to question us any further, or else Gaara would have to kill you." The girl, whose name was Temari, said with an ominous smile on her face.

"Hey! There will be no threats here! As we are all competitors in the exams, we will treat one another with respect. That is the honorable way to treat your opponent." Neji's teammate, Lee, spoke up. He's been quiet for quite a while now. He also looked surprisingly similar to their sensei.

"Hmph. Annoying, but I guess the over sized broccoli has a point. For now, I guess we're companions." Kankuro smirked. It wasn't a friendly smirk either; It was one of those frightening ones.

"Yeah, whatever, but meet with me in the Exams, and I promise I'll deal with all three of you at once." Sasuke threatened. Ino was quick to jump in and agree with the Uchiha.

"Yeah, Sasuke is the strongest genin of our generation! He's stronger than all of us, and he'll have no trouble facing you guys!" Ino exclaimed. She continued to make googly eyes over the Uchiha.

Gaara seemed to slightly chuckle. "I guess we can only see. Get in my way and we'll see who's stronger." The Sand shinobi crossed his arms.

"You mean he's the **second** strongest shinobi of our generation, right, Ino? 'Cause everyone knows I'll pummel Sasuke any day!" Naruto yelled towards the Sand Shinobi to gain their attention.

'_That Naruto. I'd literally kill him in a fight. I'll let him brag, though. Because he knows it's not true.' _Sasuke thought to himself.

_'Hmmm, both Naruto and Sasuke aren't stronger than me. I'm the strongest of the generation. But they all know it's true, so I'll let them brag.'_ Kiba thought to himself, which was surprisingly similar to Sasuke's thought.

'_Actually, Naruto, you are wrong. For I am the strongest of the generation. But they all know it's true, so I'll let him have his moment.' _Neji also similarly thought to himself.

"Hmph. You're all a rather interesting bunch. I actually look forward to seeing you later on in the exams. Well, until then, this is goodbye. Temari, Kankuro, let's go. We have more important matters to discuss." The sand shinobi formed a hand seal and they all disappeared into smoke.

Choji narrowed his eyes in questioning. "Is it just me, or are those guys super suspicious? Choji questioned the group.

"Yes, my dear student, I also agree with you. There's something off about those guys, but I have no idea what it is." Kakashi agreed with the plump Akimichi.

"Hmm, Actually, there's something I like about those guys. I can't wait to kick their asses during the exams!" Naruto cheered.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in distress. " That's because they're weird. Just like you, huh?" The Nara pointed out.

Naruto winced at Shikamaru's sharp tongue. "Shut up Shikamaru! They are weird, but that's not why I like them! It's hard to explain!" Naruto retorted.

"Well, I guess there's no time to think about it, as we are already at our destination." Shino interrupted. The bug ninja averted all of their attention to the medium sized building which would be the site for test number one in the Chunin Exams.

The written exams area didn't look so fancy. It looked just like the ninja academy. That's pretty fitting for the type of tests that this stage involves.

"This is it, huh? It's nothing like I imagined, but then again what I imagined is a little over the top. We should head inside." Kiba insisted as he casually walked into the building.

The rest of the crew followed alongside him. Surprisingly, the first people that they saw when they entered was Raiku's team. Everyone sweat-dropped, as they had even forgotten that they were with them when they all arrived at the field.

"RAIKU!" Where did you guys go? We forgot that you even left! We didn't even know that you left, actually. Nice to see you guys here and safe!" Ino squawked at the unknown survivor of the Sashenka clan.

"We never were with you guys during the journey. We left before you guys did. You guys are actually pretty late. You missed the whole speech, not that it was important, but you're still late. The written exam is about to start in 5 minutes." Raiku pointed to the clock, which signaled the written exam was soon to come.

"Whoa! We are late huh? That's just how we are. We somehow got a little sidetracked on the way." Ino explained, while rubbing the back of her head.

"No problem. I see that Sasuke is here too. And is that Neji Hyuga besides him? Woah, these exams really are getting interesting!" Raiku admired the presence of Neji and Sasuke.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Raiku. I'm looking forward to that spar more than ever right now." The Uchiha respectably admitted.

"Oh yeah, maybe we'll get a chance during the exams. Neji Hyuga, It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Raiku Sashenka. I've heard a lot about you." Raiku bowed at Neji's presence.

"Huh? A Sashenka? I've heard so many stories about you. So you're the survivor from the attack thirteen years ago. I never actually thought I'd meet you." Neji respectfully said.

"Hey, Shikamaru? Sasuke and Neji are getting a lot of buzz, huh? I wish we could get in on it." Naruto admitted to the lazy pineapple, as he wasn't getting as much attention as he wished.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Speak for yourself, Naruto. I'm fine with just being another regular genin. Being popular because of where you come from is overrated. There's all types of expectations that people expect you to live up to. That's why Hinata's having a tough time back at home and throughout the community. Everyone expected too much from her, so when she can't fulfill it, they turn on her and treat her like trash. With the Naras, though, everyone expects nothing from us but intellect and rejuvenating medicines. You should be glad you're not in Sasuke's position." Shikamaru claimed, which confused Naruto.

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "What? Sasuke's living the good life! Everyone knows and adores him. I'd kill to be that popular! Wouldn't you?"

"I guess, but personally, I'd like to become popular because of what I do for the world, not where I come from. Clan supremacy is just ignorant to me." Shikamaru responded. That changed Naruto's perspective on the matter.

"You know what, Shikamaru? I agree with you. From here on out, let's make a pact that we'd battle it out and become legends as great as the first Kages! We'll be great because of what we do, not our background! How 'bout it, pal?" Naruto stuck his hand out, expecting a formal beginning of their oath.

Shikamaru stared at Naruto's hand in delight, then grinned. "You know what, Naruto? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I'm in! Let's start with dominating these exams." Shikamaru agreed to Naruto's pact, and instead of shaking hands, they both bumped fists with each other.

In another conversation, Kiba was also getting fed up with Sasuke and Neji's popularity. He decided to butt in and change the subject to a more interesting one. Well, at least to him it was.

"Hmph. Raiku what are you wasting your time with these guys for? I'm the real star here! I'll wipe the floor with the competition!" Kiba fumed.

Raiku, Neji, and Sasuke all grinned at each other, and turned to Kiba. All of their eyes on him really made Kiba feel nervous. It made him feel tiny.

"Sure, Kiba, I bet you will wipe the floor with us. I'd love to see that happen." Sasuke sarcastically responded as the Big Three resumed their conversation.

"Arggh! You just watch! I'll become a major threat in the exams! You'll see! I'm tired of being underestimated!" Kiba muttered to himself as he wandered over to Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Heh. Join the club, Kiba. We'll have to show them a lesson later on." Naruto growled, to which Kiba enthusiastically agreed to. As Kiba opened his mouth to speak, the door busted open, and in walked a large man with a trench coat, and a blue cap.

"Hmm, so this is this year's batch, eh? All of you who are participating in this year's Chunin Exams, step right up!" The unknown man demanded.

"So, Ibiki is this year's proctor? I should've expected as much." Kakashi calmly said.

All the genin slowly, but surely, proceeded to walk towards Ibiki. They all formed in their teams, respectively. Ibiki motioned for the Jonin to come and say their last words of encouragement.

Kakashi stepped up first and gave his team a casual goodbye and some basic tips. He bent down and whispered into Kiba's ear, 'I'm betting on you to make it the farthest.' Kiba flashed his devilish smile at Kakashi as they shook hands.

"You got it Kakashi." Kiba disrespectfully affirmed. Kakashi winced, but returned the smile.

'We'll have to teach him about manners later on' Kakashi thought to himself.

Kurenai was next. She smiled and said 'You better make it out of this portion, you hear?" All of Team 7 nodded in acknowledgment.

"Don't worry Kurenai-sensei! We are the best team out there, right?" Ino assured. Kurenai smiled in joy at her student's confidence.

Anko was last. She bent down and whispered her own words of advice to each of her students.

"Hinata, you're the kindest, don't let these fools boss you around during the exams. I'm depending on you to show them the right way, because they're kind of...clumsy. Now remember, just do your best!" Anko reminded Hinata. The Hyuga heiress slightly chuckled and nodded her head.

Anko bent down to Shikamaru next. " Oh Shikamaru, when it comes to personality, you're my favorite. But I'll tell you this one time. If you slack off and cause the rest of your team to fail, You will not live another day! I know you're smart. Matter of fact, you're much smarter than anyone here. You better use that to your advantage. You actually have a high chance of becoming a Chunin. That's why you're in charge of making decisions. As long as you have Hinata to give you direction because you're clumsy! Anyways, you better kick ass! Or else you and I will have some problems!" Anko threatened. It was the only way to get through to Shikamaru.

"Don't worry, you old bat. I'll be fine." Shikamaru grinned. Anko fumed but returned the smile and moved on to Naruto.

"Now you, Naruto. You're definitely the most unpredictable out of the bunch. You better use that to your advantage later on in the exams. Just make sure you do whatever Shikamaru says and you'll be pretty fine throughout the exams. That's all I have to say to you guys. Now get in there and kick ass!" Anko waved off her team.

"You got it Anko! I'll make sure to come back a Chunin!" Naruto predicted.

The Rookie nine and company followed Ibiki into the room to take the written exams, just the beginning of a long journey ahead.

* * *

Ibiki was a very simply dressed man. He sported a dark blue trench coat, and a cap which contained his forehead protector. He had large slash marks across his face, and was very tall. All of that combined for a very frightening image overall.

"Alright, scum, I'm Ibiki Morino, and I will be the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams. This is how the first stage will g-" Ibiki explained until he was interrupted by of course, the knucklehead.

"Yeah, yeah, it's a test that will analyze our statistical reasoning and whatnot! They've explained this to me a thousand times already!" Naruto eagerly anticipated what Ibiki was going to say.

"Hmm, I see we got a feisty one here. You! Who's your sensei!" Ibiki intimidatingly pointed at Naruto.

Naruto stood up and grinned. "My sensei? My sensei? My sensei is Anko Mitarashi! And here is our team! Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, and Hinata Hyuga! I guarantee to you that we'll all become Chunin by the end of this!" Naruto confidently pointed back at Ibiki, inadvertently embarrassing his two teammates.

"Narutoooo! shut your mouth! You're making us all look like fools!" Sakura scolded the blonde haired ninja, which got as much attention as Naruto's earlier outburst. With all attention on her, Sakura blushed and muttered an apology.

"Yeah, 'Naruto', you're embarrassing us. We all know us Konoha ninja don't like to make bad impressions." A mysterious voice spoke from the shadows.

All the Genin jumped on their feet as they heard the mysterious voice. Instinctively, they all whipped out into their battle stances.

"Sasuke, Ino, who do you think it is?" Shino was the first to speak to his teammates.

Sasuke and Ino both shook their heads. "I've no idea. Just stay on your toes. They might be dangerous." Sasuke commanded.

"I'm looking forward to some action! Come on, whoever you are, take me one on one!" Kiba yelled into the crowds. Everyone stared at him like he was crazy, which prompted him to challenge them all to a one-on-one match.

Naruto, like a fool, threw a kunai in the direction of the voice, having no idea who he might hit. Everyone winced as they heard the metal clang against another metal. Ino stroke Naruto in the side of his face, sending him crashing into a wall. Ibiki just blankly stared at the unfolding scene.

"Aww! Ino what was that for?" Naruto angrily questioned the Yamanaka.

"Why would you randomly throw a kunai? You don't know who you could've hit! How stupid are you?" Ino reprimanded the orange clad ninja.

The Rookie Nine were awestruck at Naruto's incredible stupidity. Shikamaru broke the two up before it could escalate to something unnecessary.

"Yup, that's my teammate all right. Don't you guys remember that we have a more important matter than this? Hey, whoever's there reveal yourself. Or else." Shikamaru threatened, to the surprise of everyone around.

From the shadows appeared a medium height slender man, who wore his unusual gray hair in a ponytail, and had circular glasses on. He sported a dark purple shirt with a white undershirt and an obi around his waist. His pants were also dark purple and were supporting his shuriken holster. He also wore a Konoha forehead protector.

"Or what? Huh, _Shikamaru_? You wouldn't dare hurt a fellow Konoha shinobi, would you? The mysterious man retorted, who, to the shock of everyone, knew Shikamaru's name.

Shikamaru gazed at the man in confusion. He ultimately put his kunai away in confusion. " H-h-how do you know my name. Who are you?" The Nara questioned the curious ninja

The man continued to tread in the Nara's decision. He sadistically grinned in delight. " I know all of you. Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki, of Team 10 under Anko Mitarashi. Next, Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Choji Akimichi, Team 8 under Kakashi Hatake. , Shino Aburame, Ino Yamanaka, and Sasuke Uchiha, Team 7 under Kurenai Yuhi. Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee, under Might Guy. Does that answer your question?" The mystery man asked.

"This guy's a weirdo! Tell us your name!" Tenten angrily demanded.

The stranger adjusted his glasses and pulled a small book out of his pocket. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. The reason I know all of you guys is because I'm no stranger to these exams. Believe it or not, I think I can be your ticket to success during these exams. I like to gather information on all potential opponents. That means I know everything about everybody here!" Kabuto answered.

Sasuke shook his head. "That's a lie! If you know everything, tell us about Gaara of the Sand!" The Uchiha requested.

"Hmm, you're quick to the point, huh Sasuke?" Kabuto pulled out a card from his book. He transferred a little chakra into it and then he showed it to all the genin. It read 'Gaara of the Sand' at the top. He proceeded to read the card's contents.

"Gaara of the Sand, registration number 56201, Graduation Age: 12. Birthday: January 19th. Height: 146.1 cm. Weight: 39 kilograms Blood Type: AB. Sensei: Baki. Teammates: Temari and Kankuro of the Sand. Mission Experience: There's no info on how much D-rank missions they've taken, but they're more experienced than you guys. They've successfully completed 8 C-rank missions, 3 B-rank missions, and 2 A-rank missions. Pretty impressive. Anything else you want to know?" Kabuto challenged the genin to test his knowledge.

"Hmph. Impressive! We sure could use you. You're comin' with us!" Kiba demanded as he tugged Kabuto's sleeve towards his direction. It was challenging because there was an opposing force.

Sasuke tugged the opposite side of Kabuto's sleeve. "In your dreams, Kiba, with him on our team, we'll be more unstoppable than we already are. He's ours."

"Back off Uchiha! Don't make me flatten you right here and now!" Kiba challenged. As usual, he was always picking for a fight.

"Cool it, Kiba! Don't go around acting like you can beat Sasuke!" Sakura defended the onyx-haired Uchiha.

Kiba scoffed, but quickly grinned, an evil thought in his mind. "You're one to talk. You're not even the slightest threat to anyone!" Kiba poked fun at one of Sakura's insecurities, angering Naruto.

Naruto pointed an interrogating finger. "Kiba, you've got to stop this! She's your teammate. Why would you poke fun at her like that! Besides, Sakura has a better chance of becoming a Chunin then you!" Naruto said, causing Kiba to wince.

"I feel disrespected here. Even Kakashi knows I have a better chance of becoming a Chunin than her! Don't make me laugh!" Kiba challenged, but Naruto stepped down , as he didn't want to stoop to the Inuzuka's level.

Hinata whispered to Shikamaru "Uh, Shikamaru, do you think he could come with us?" The innocent Hyuga wondered, referring to Kabuto.

"Uh, Honestly, I don't know. He said that he was no stranger to the exams. How useful could he be if he's probably taken the exams a couple of times?" Shikamaru assumed.

Hinata nodded her head in agreement and returned to twiddling with her fingers while Naruto continued to rub his head in pain from Ino's punch.

Shikamaru advanced towards Kabuto. He gazed at him for a good 10 seconds before finally opening his mouth to speak. "Hey, Kabuto, I got some questions I want to ask you. You said you were no stranger to these exams. Doesn't that just mean that you're another dropout that fails to succeed in becoming a chunin time after time? That brings up another topic. How could you possibly have data on all the opposition? That seems to be on the borderline of stalking if you ask me. Especially since we've only been genin for month and a half now."

Kabuto slipped his pocket book back into his holster. He fiddled around in his other pocket until finally acquiring an unknown scroll. "Well, we really are interrupting the written exams, but I'll tell you this before we begin. I seem to be unlucky when it comes to these exams. Something always, umm let's say, forces me out of the competition. I've taken the exam seven times. If you want to know why I have information on you guys at such a young age, it's because of this scroll right here. It's a list of all the competitors in the exam. From there on, I search you up and add you to my book. I'm afraid our free time is up however, as we really need to proceed with the exams see you guys later." Kabuto waved goodbye and proceeded to take a seat in the site for the exams.

"Hmph. That was weird. But we've got much more to worry about than him. It looks like it's officially time to get started. Kiba, Sasuke, Neji, and Raiku, I wish you and your teams luck 'cause Team 10 is going to wipe the floor with all the competition! Believe it!" Naruto bellowed only to receive another smack in the head, this time from Sakura.

"Naruto! Are you trying to attract more attention to us! Nobody cares about what you have to say, so pipe down!" Sakura reprimanded the blonde ninja.

Naruto rubbed his head in pain once again, only to have his arm yanked by Ibiki, who's patience was being severely tested. Naruto sweat-dropped as he turned around, greeted by a menacing proctor.

Ibiki lifted Naruto into the air until he was face to face with him. "Are you done yet?" Naruto nervously nodded his head.

"YOU BETTER BE! BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN GOING ON AND ON ABOUT WHO KNOWS WHAT FOR 10 MINUTES! IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE WASTING MY TIME! NOW ALL YOU GENIN BETTER GO TAKE YOUR SEAT OR ELSE YOU'LL ALL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE EXAMS!" Ibiki threatened the Rookies.

All the genin took their seats which were pre-designated. None of the main group members sat together. Ibiki took his place at the front of the class.

"Well, this is the first stage of the Chunin Exams, the written test. The rules are pretty simple. No fatal force allowed. The test consists of 10 questions relating to different ninja subjects. You'll all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. As you miss each question, 1 point is deducted from your total score. Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores from every member of the team. The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot, two points will be deducted from you score, meaning that if you get caught five times, you're automatically disqualified. If you're fool enough to get caught cheating by our sentinels then you don't deserve to be here. If you're a talented shinobi, then show us. The tenth question won't be given out until there is fifteen minutes left to take the test. You will have an hour. Oh, and one more thing, if any candidate gets a zero then the whole team will fail the test. You may now begin." Ibiki concluded his speech.

* * *

_Naruto's P.O.V._

_Oh man, I never expected the Written Exams to be anything like this. I expected Shikamaru to be here to help me. What am I gonna do? I doubt that Shikamaru will work up the energy to even start the test, but I bet Hinata should be just fine. That still means we're going to fail! Oh, they're going to kill me! I have to at least get one question right!_

_I flipped my packet open to the first page. I looked at the first question. Well, I'll come back to this one later._

_I scrolled down to the second question. I have no idea what any of these mean! Oh, I want to cheat, but if I get caught, that'll ruin all of our chances of becoming chunin! I can't do that to Shikamaru and Hinata! No, I'll make it through. Oh, what am I saying! This test will eat me alive! How am I supposed to do this!_

* * *

_Sasuke's P.O.V._

_It's strange. They make more of a fuss about cheating than they do about the test itself. These sentinels are watching our every move. That's another thing. Why only a two point deduction? Normally, if caught cheating even once, that's automatic grounds for disqualification. That's it! Ibiki said " Anyone who's caught cheating by our sentinels doesn't deserve to be here." That must be a hint that he's challenging us on our ability to gather information. That explains everything. He's daring us to try and cheat without getting caught. Well, I accept your challenge Ibiki._

_I immediately activated my Sharingan. I wonder if Shino and Ino have already figured out the true purpose of the test. Oh yeah, I'm going to cash in with this. I wonder if Naruto and his lackluster team have even begun to scratch the surface of this exam._

_I carefully looked around the room. The next question was who had all the answers. I gazed onto the person's test in front of me. Woah! He already has all the answers! If I could just mimic his movements, then I'd hit the jackpot. He must not even be a genin. He's probably there to provide all the answers so we can cheat. They've really outdone themselves..._

* * *

_Kiba's P.O.V._

_Kakashi, it seems you really came out for me when you told me the true meaning of the test. With Akamaru atop my head, no one will even notice that he's just there to gather answers. He has a perfect view of everyone. Sakura seems to be flying through this. I'll see how she's doing so far._

_'Akamaru, home in on Sakura. I want her answers. I can trust them.' I commanded Akamaru. First, he had to sniff her out. She's only a couple of seats ahead of me. Akamaru rested his eyes on her paper and then fed me the answers._

_Hahah! With Akamaru by my side, this test is too easy. I'm almost halfway finished and we still have forty minutes left! I bet Team 8 will be first to finish! I'm one step closer to finally putting Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki in their places! I just hope Choji's okay..._

* * *

_Neji's P.O.V._

_'Byakugan!' I Whispered. With my kekkai genkai , I have a 360 degree field of vision. I can see everything around me. Now I just need to figure out who is a reliable source to copy off of._

_The guy behind me has all the answers. There's still 35 minutes left. He can't be a regular genin. He's probably just a decoy for the contestants to copy off of. These guys are genius. I never would have expected that._

_"I wonder how Rock Lee is going to get the answers. He's not too bright, and he has no special skills in this field. Tenten will find some type of way with all of her techniques. They better not let me down..._

* * *

_Gaara's P.O.V._

_With my Third Eye technique, I can see everything within the eye's vision. I'll use it to copy off of that kid in front of me. He looks like he's having no problem with this test. Let me just distract him with some sand..._

_Perfect. He's distracted. Now with the Third Eye, I can record all of his answers. I should withdraw the technique before anyone notices. Cheating process complete._

_Kankuro's already managed to get the job done and has slipped the answers to Temari. They haven't disappointed me...yet._

* * *

_Ino's P.O.V._

_Look at Sakura. It appears she has a brain behind that huge forehead. She's writing so fast! Now I know why she didn't get placed on the Loser Squad. She's smart! Now I should put that brain to work for me!_

_She should be flattered actually. I don't hit just anyone with my Mind Transfer Jutsu! All I gotta do is aim and...fire!_

_It was a success! Wow! Billboard-brow is actually just finishing up the ninth question! Now that I think about, I should share these answers with Shikamaru and Choji. My dad did tell me to look after those fools. I got to hurry up and memorize these answers then take over Shika and Choji._

_Okay! I've memorized her answers, now to Shikamaru and Choji! Where are they? Oh, there's Shikamaru! The lazy bum would be sleeping. Choji's right behind him, surprisingly not eating._

_Now that I've written down all the answers for those two bums, I can return back to my own body and copy the memorized answers. I don't have to worry about Sasuke and Shino. With Sasuke's Sharingan and Shino's disgusting insects, they can both definitely find the answers..._

* * *

_Tenten's P.O.V._

_My plan is all set! I've set up all the wires accordingly and I should be able to see Shino's answers and also portray them to Lee once he adjusts his headband. Neji definitely doesn't need any help. I already saw him finish question nine a couple of minutes ago._

_Okay, I'll use the wires to adjust the flaps of my hidden mirrors, so I can see the reflection of Shino's answers and pass them on to Lee. I've already sent him the signal to adjust his headband._

_Alright! My plan worked! Our whole team is set with the answers. I know Shino's answers are accurate because I saw him use his bugs to copy off the planted chunin in front of him. I wonder if the rest of the Rookies have figured out the answers._

* * *

Regular P.O.V.

Naruto was still struggling with the test, while everyone else has already gotten their answers one way or another. Naruto hasn't answered a single question when Ibiki was ready to read the tenth question.

"Okay, pencils down. I'm ready to announce the tenth question. But first, I want to make something clear. If you or any member of your team fail to answer the tenth question correctly, you will all be barred from taking the Chunin Exams and will remain Genin forever!" Ibiki declared.

"What!" The entire class of contestants shouted in unison, obviously shocked by Ibiki's announcement.

Ibiki grinned, for the first time that the genin have seen. "That's right. Now you can give up, and your team can come back in six months, which you can use to further your training, or you can accept the tenth question and the risk of staying a genin forever. If you want to quit, raise your hand." Ibiki demanded.

About 75 different genin declared their withdrawal, while Naruto was on the brink of joining them. Naruto knew he wasn't ready for the tenth question, and didn't want to stay a genin forever, because that would hinder his dream of becoming Hokage. Then again, he really didn't want to let Shikamaru and Hinata down.

What Naruto didn't know was that every other remaining genin was thinking the same thing.

"You guys better not quit! You're only going to stand in my way of defeating Uchiha and the Hyuga!" Kiba threatened his teammates.

Sakura and Choji both reluctantly agreed to Kiba's demands. "Yeah, Kiba, I guess we'll answer that question." Sakura and Choji simultaneously said.

Sasuke grinned, and glanced at his teammates. Ino and Shino both nodded with fierce determination visible on their faces. "Well, we're in. We won't let something like this stop us." Sasuke calmly stated. Even with his future on the line, he still acted aloof.

"Ditto. Our sensei always taught us to never give up!" Lee ecstatically cheered as Neji folded his arms and smirked. Tenten smiled in joy.

Whether or not Team 10 advanced relied on Naruto's decision. Naruto clutched his head in fear. There seemed to be no way he could possibly answer the tenth question, and he knew it, but when he looked at Shikamaru and Hinata's face, he saw a look he's never seen in them before.

Determination.

Ibiki repeated the question. "If there is anyone who believes they don't have what it takes to answer the tenth question, this is your final chance."

Naruto slowly and painfully raised his left hand, shocking everyone, especially Shikamaru. The Nara decided not to say anything as this was Naruto's own choice.

"Hah! These exams were just too much for you, huh, Uzumaki!" Kiba mocked.

Naruto stood up with his hand still raised, ignoring Kiba. He slightly bent it so it was now in a pointing position at Ibiki. "Like hell I'd ever quit. If you guys ever thought I would, you must not know who I am. I don't care if I'll be a Genin forever, I'll find a way to become Hokage. You guys won't scare me away, because I'll never give up. That's my nindo, my ninja way! Believe It! I'm just itching to beat dogboy and the bastard Sasuke!" Naruto plopped back down into his seat stubbornly. Shikamaru sighed with relief and Hinata chuckled.

'The kid's got guts, I'll give him that.' Neji thought to himself, smirking.

"That's Naruto alright. The number one knucklehead!" Shikamaru laughed, along with the other Rookies.

Ibiki smiled once again. This time out of respect for the Rookie's determination. 'This years batch of Rookies really isn't half bad. I'll keep a close eye on them.' He thought to himself.

"Well then, I admire your determination, if nothing else. For all of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do, and that's for me to tell you...that you've all passed the first exam!" The famed interrogator proclaimed.

That statement sent all the contestants into extreme shock. Naruto dropped the pencil he's been clinging onto all this time and Hinata almost fainted.

"Hold on! What just happened? What do you mean we've passed the first exam! What about the tenth question?" Ino inquired.

Ibiki smile grew even wider. "There wasn't one! At least not written. Actually, the answer to the 10th question was whether or not you wanted to stay, albeit knowing that if you failed to complete the task, you'll never be able to become a chunin. Sometimes you'll have to make brave decisions and have fierce determination like you all exhibited today. I'm proud of each and every one of your performances here today. I wish you all luck in the further stages." Ibiki congratulated the genin on a job well done, but for some that wasn't enough.

"Wait a second! So you mean the other nine questions were just a waste of time?" Temari angrily questioned the proctor.

"No, no, not at all! Quite the opposite. The first nine questions served the purpose of testing your ability to successfully gather information. This is a very important skill to have during missions." Ibiki revealed, much to Naruto's annoyance.

"Good. Because honestly, even I don't know if I could've answered another question. I don't know how I answered the first nine!" Choji revealed.

'What! So I was SUPPOSED to cheat the whole time? I should've known! No wonder everyone else had an easy time with this! I'm such a fool!" Naruto thought to himself. He would keep this thought to himself, however.

"Yup! I knew it was something like that. That's why I kept my cool. Ya' couldn't fool me!" Naruto unconvincingly stated.

"Yeah, right. I could see you freaking out all the way from my seat!" Shikamaru revealed to the orange-clad ninja.

Naruto sweat dropped in embarrassment. "Oi, Shikamaru, you couldn't keep that to yourself?" Naruto cried.

'Wow. I can't believe the whole time the dobe didn't know the true meaning.' Sasuke thought to himself.

Ibiki cleared his voice to speak once more. "There were even more tricks. As some of you may have realized, there were many decoys in the area, who already had all the answers. They were there to catch anyone cheating, but they failed, which means you guys were stealthy enough to fool them. You should be proud." Ibiki once again revealed to Naruto's annoyance.

"Whaaaaatttt! The answers were right in front of me the whole time! I feel so stupid! Did everybody else know about this?" Naruto demanded. Everyone nodded their heads, which caused Naruto to fall out of his chair in disappointment.

Ibiki tried to console Naruto. "Don't worry, kid. At least you ma-" Ibiki began until he was interrupted by a dumpling piercing through the glass window and poking him in the chest.

Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata's eyes all grew wide. "I-it can't be!" They all muttered in unison. Suddenly, the wall was then busted down by an exploding tag.

"Jumped the gun once again." Ibiki muttered to himself. When the smoke cleared, a familiar face to the genin appeared. A familiar dumpling loving face. A familiar purple haired face. A familiar crazy face.

"Ibiki! This many people passed! It's too many! Your test was too easy! You're getting soft." The familiar face criticized the famous interrogator.

Ibiki shook his head in annoyance. "Or maybe, this a more talented group of Genin. Like _your_ students." Ibiki stressed the word 'your'.

"Nope. Your test was too easy. Don't worry. After I'm done with them, this group will be cut down to at least a third!" The familiar face confirmed.

Team 10 was too scared too say anything. Naruto couldn't hold his excitement in any longer. He yelled what everyone else was thinking

"Anko-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto yelled in excitement and also fear. Naruto was excited to see his sensei after he just succeeded in part one of the Chunin Exams, but scared because of what she might be doing there.

"Today I'm not your sensei, Naruto. Because today, I am the proctor of the second stage of the Chunin Exams! So you better brace yourselves, because these next couple of days will be pure **hell** for you guys!

_Stage One of the Chunin Exams A Success! Next Time! Forest of Death! What kind of Challenge does Anko have for the Genin!_

* * *

**Finally! The chapter is finished! Remember to Read and Review! Also, I failed to introduce Team Dosu, but don't worry, because they'll be introduced soon enough. Also, this story is AU. Remember that! Because there will be some things that are said that in the story that might upset some people! Also, I'm not trying to reveal too much about Raiku until the preliminaries. Also, Ochiro will appear in the exams. Orochimaru and Team Dosu will both go after Sasuke's team and everyone else will come to help from there. Just a little insider of the next chapters. I also want the forest of death to cover 2 chapters. Well that's it I guess! Don't forget to review!**


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